Isis' Bane: A New Home
by althor42
Summary: Alternate continuation of Isis' Bane. Harry returns to Earth with SG-1 and finds a place to fit in. First chapter begins with an alternate of the last chapter of Isis' Bane.
1. 00 Dirt

Dirt

Dirt

When Harry next awoke, he had a rather awful headache. His mouth was very dry, so, still barely conscious, he went to get himself a glass of water. Returning to the command center, Harry sat down and began to think about his situation. The first thing he noticed was that the injuries that he had sustained from his fight with Osiris were gone completely. He knew from Isis that the healing abilities of a symbiote shouldn't have stayed with him, but then the same was true of the goa'uld's knowledge. As an experiment, Harry flashed his eyes to see if he still could and was surprised to see that he still had the ability. He tried the distorted voice. He was able to pull it off, but it felt different than when Isis had physically manipulated his vocal cords. Harry recognized the feel of power inside of him, and something more. Perhaps it was the naquedah in his blood. He decided to think more on it later; he needed to figure out what to do next.

His first thought was of Osiris' host. Sarah, the name came to him. Harry felt that he owed it to her to set her free from Osiris, as he had been set free. He didn't want to think about her still being a slave in her own body. However, he didn't think that he was a match for Osiris. What he needed was a way to knock her unconscious, and she had their only zat'ni'katel. If he wanted to capture the host without hurting her, he felt he would need one of those. That meant taking the ship to another planet, where he could hopefully acquire one.

He thought about his options. From Calaissis, there was another inhabited planet only one week away named Oberdad. Or at least, there had been one eight thousand years ago. Now, he couldn't be sure of anything, as Isis and Osiris had discovered down below. He plotted a course and set the ship to take him there anyway; at the very least, it was a plan.

As he did so though, he finally noticed something about the ribbon device on his arm. Before, it had always fit snugly against his skin, but looking at it now, Harry realized that it had somehow become a part of his skin. He remembered when he had tried to force Osiris out of her host, the energy had gone into the hand device, and interacted with the naquedah in his blood. Somehow, the device had become fused with his arm in a way that felt as though it had always been a part of him. Oddly enough, it didn't hurt.

Harry decided that his arm was another thing that he could think about later. Right then, he was hungry, so he set himself to scrounge up some food. With the goa'uld's advanced stasis technology, the ship had kept food in its stores from the last time it had been used all those thousands of years ago. Harry feasted on fruit, meats, and cheeses with a glass of goat's milk. The pungent cheeses had taken some getting used to, but Harry had ironically grown to like them during his five-month trip as a host.

As he ate though, Harry's thoughts turned dark. He couldn't help but feel that he was running away from Osiris and abandoning Sarah. From there he started thinking again about how long he had waited to take control of his body back, and to the boy who lay dead back on Calaissis. His appetite gone, Harry put the food away and began pacing in the small dining area, trying to forget the events of the past days, to shake his feelings of guilt. After a while, Harry turned to the exercises that Isis had put his body through, and found for a while at least, that he could forget everything else.

!!

Four days into his journey, Harry was doing his best to sleep during the ships artificial night. Trying being the operative word. Harry had hoped that he could put much of what Isis had done with his body behind him, but that just wasn't happening. He had been having nightmares, mostly focusing on the death of that small boy. Sometimes he dreamed that he was still a host, and Isis would make him kill and torture one person after the next. All the while Harry would scream and struggle against Isis, but to no avail. The fact that Harry knew perfectly well how to kill and torture made it all the worse.

The waking world was little better. Harry's guilt over his actions had been eating away at him, taking away his appetite. The only things that seemed to keep him sane were exercise and experimenting with the energy inside of him. He was ashamed of that as well, though he didn't let it stop him. The Dursleys had told him that he was a freak, that there was unnaturalness within him. He had often felt as though they were right, but this was the proof of what they had told him. Still, the power had freed him, and he liked it, and really, he didn't like the Durlseys.

Knowing that he wouldn't find any peace in his bed, Harry got out and decided to try experimenting with his power. He sat down on the floor cross-legged, and focused on his left hand while trying not to think about what he had done with it. He had washed that hand so many times, but no matter how hard he scrubbed it never felt clean. Putting those thoughts aside, Harry decided to try something new. He'd had some luck moving things around himself, but Harry wanted to try a different effect. He remembered from his fight with Osiris that accompanying the blast that had forced them apart, there had also been a flash of light. He wanted to know if he could recreate that light, or something similar.

As he focused on his hand, willing the effect that he wanted, Harry felt the Naquedah in his blood respond. Soon, bright sparks came into existence and faded away over his hand. It wasn't quite what he wanted, but it was a start. Harry went on trying to create a light that he could control, for no other reason than that it kept his mind off of darker thoughts.

Working his powers that way wasn't the only thing Harry had been experimenting with. After giving up on trying to remove the hand device from his skin, Harry had decided to try experimenting with it as well. It still worked as it should, but Harry remembered something else from his battle with Osiris. When the hand device had melded with his skin, he had felt as though he were connected to it, and not just in the physical sense. The device had always been slave to thoughts and emotions, but now it was as though Harry could speak to it, manipulate it on a far more personal level. And through the hand device, Harry found himself reaching out into the ship itself through the connection between the two pieces of technology. Harry had surprised himself when he had opened a door with just a thought. Still, it wasn't as though it was very functional yet. Harry had to shut out the rest of the world while he connected with the ship. Pushing buttons was much more practical. Still, it was interesting, and it was another thing that kept him from thinking about the things he didn't want to think about.

As he sat down for breakfast later, Harry turned his thoughts to what he would do when he got back to Earth. 'If I get back to Earth,' he thought. Really, he couldn't imagine going home. He had, in effect, stolen his Uncle's car. Surely, he couldn't just go home and expect bygones to be bygones. He considered simply not going home, maybe not even going back to Earth. While living with the Dursleys, Harry had survived knowing that even if they didn't care about him, at least he would be able to make a future for himself, one day. He did well in school, which was a haven for him in spite of his cousin, and he knew that one day he would have more than a few options open to him (he had still considered fireman as an option). Now though, he couldn't see himself ever leading a normal life, sitting in school, and getting a job.

!!

Just over five months after the incident with Isis and Osiris, SG-1 had been quite busy. There had been no news about the two escaped goa'uld, though that had been expected. They had left the earth in an ancient ship, which would have been rather slow by modern standards. Now, SG-1 was on what was supposed to be a rather uneventful trip. The planet they were on had been abandoned by the goa'uld long ago, and it was inhabited by a simple and peaceful group of humans. That was just fine by Jack, any mission where no one shot at them was a good mission. They were there at Carter's request; she wanted to check out some anomalies with the soil. Jack really hadn't been paying attention during the briefing. She'd do her thing, and he'd do his.

They'd been there for two days, having been graciously given shelter by the local town leader. The man had been excited to have visitors from so far away. It had been interesting, mixing with the people on this planet, but really, Jack was getting bored with the whole thing. He decided to stretch his legs and go for a walk; the locals had told him that there was a spectacular view along the coastline. He radioed the rest of the team to tell them where he was going, before walking off.

!!

The ship was in the final hours of its journey, and Harry wasn't doing very well. He'd just about stopped sleeping, and it was a struggle to eat anything. Really though, he'd stopped caring. He'd already despaired of ever achieving his goal of freeing Sarah. He kept on thinking about how he would get a zat'ni'katel, and how he'd overpower Osiris and free Sarah, and more and more, he felt that all of his efforts could never work. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to free her; he'd learned that the first time. The more time Harry spent alone on the ship, the more he began to feel that he had nothing tying him to life; nothing was the same anymore. Certainly, the Dursley's would never miss him. He had no friends to miss himself. It wasn't as though he had much of a home to go back to, anyway; he couldn't imagine going back to the Dursleys. The more his guilt ate away at him, the more he wondered why he bothered to go on.

When Harry reached Oberdad, he told the ship to land at the edge of the smallest continent. His plan to find a Zat'ni'katel had been discarded. Really, it had been a foolish plan. Harry ringed down and examined his surroundings. The ship had put him down next to a large cliff, which Harry thought rather suited what he needed right then. He put one foot in front of the other, and let his body take him to the edge.

!!

Jack was walking through the slightly dense foliage, and had almost made it to the coast, when he saw a ship coming down from the sky. He didn't recognize the make of the ship, though he thought that it was of goa'uld design. It looked to be somewhere between a cargo ship and an al'kesh. He radioed the rest of his team, though he knew that they were at least twenty minutes away, and told them what was going on. The ship stopped not far away, hovering roughly fifteen feet off the ground. Jack hurried over to its position, making sure to stay out of sight.

When the rings fell from the ship, Jack was surprised that they deposited a small boy on the ground. The hooded figure was too far away for him to make out the face clearly. He watched as the boy looked around, before walking to the edge of the cliff.

!!

Harry looked down over the edge. At another time, he might have thought that the scene below looked rather nice. The almost purple water was crashing against the rocks below in a spray of color, and the sun was setting in the distance. He held his arms out, wondering if he could actually do it. A part of him hoped that a gust of wind would come along and make the decision for him. He closed his eyes to the world around him. Then he heard a voice, a cautious voice behind him.

!!

Jack had come out from his hiding place, and stood behind the boy who seemed to contemplating what Jack really hoped he wasn't contemplating. He decided to speak up, though he made sure to pay attention for any activity from the ship behind him.

"You're awfully close to the edge there kid. It's a long way down."

The hooded boy in front of him shuddered, and Jack could tell that he was crying.

"That's kind of the point," the boy said, and Jack could hear the despair in his voice.

'Well that clarifies things.' He was really rather out of his league with this. "What's your name?"

The boy sniffled. "Harry."

"Well, Harry, my name's Jack by the way, why don't you come over here? We could talk about cliffs and guard rails."

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine where I am."

Jack really didn't know how to handle this.

"Why? What could be so bad?" The boy's shudders were becoming more pronounced, and Jack was wondering if he wasn't doing something wrong.

"He used me, he used my body to do what he wanted, and I couldn't stop him. I can't… I just can't… How do I go on after what he made me do?"

Shoot. Jack liked watching Law and Order, but he'd never gone for the special victims spin-off. Maybe he should have tried to catch an episode or two.

"Look, Harry, if someone's been touching you where they shouldn't, we can do something about it. I'm sure it's hard, but you're not always going to feel like this."

Finally the kid turned around to face him, though Jack still couldn't see his face clearly.

"What?!"

"Huh?"

"I'm talking about a goa'uld, I was a host."

"Oh. Oh! Right. And you're not anymore."

"Yeah."

"Well, that's something to be happy about, you're free."

"But not soon enough! I was too scared to try again; it hurt so bad the first time, so I put off trying again. 'I'll do it tomorrow', I said, even though I knew how evil they were. Well tomorrow was too late." He started to wring his left hand, as though he were tying to pull it off. "This hand, no matter how much I wash it, I can't make it clean. He killed that boy; he was smaller than me. He couldn't have ever hurt anyone. But he just picked him up, and he snapped his neck. I never even knew his name," he finished miserably. At that point, he turned around again.

Jack felt his heart go out to the kid. He saw the boy start to move one of his legs, as though struggling against himself to step over. He decided then that he would have to grab the boy. He ran up as quickly and as quietly as he could and grabbed the boy by his shirt, pulling him back. The boy struggled against him, shouting to be let go. Jack could tell that the boy still possessed the strength that came from being a host. Soon though, the boy lost the fight inside of him, and slumped to the ground crying. Jack picked him up and held him. Harry grabbed onto his jacket and pushed his face into it.

"Come on kid. I'm sure that there are still people out there somewhere who care about you, who want to see you again." He really hoped so.

Harry shook his head and started to wipe the tears from his face, squirming to be let down. Jack set him down, making sure to put himself between the boy and the cliff, and for the first time, he got a good look at the boys face.

"They never loved me. My relatives made that perfectly clear. No one loved me then, and no one can ever love me now."

Jack suddenly realized something that he probably should have realized sooner. "You're Harry Potter."

"What?"

"You're from England, you lived with your aunt and uncle?"

"How-"

"Kid, I've met them. Those jerks aren't fit to raise a hamster, let alone a human being."

"What?"

"You can't judge your ability to be loved on people like that. Listen, Harry, I know a kid, Skaara, he was taken host by Apophis' son, Klorel. He was a host for years before he was freed, and he was forced to do many horrible things before he finally was. I was there when he was freed, kid, and I was there when he went home. His people knew what had happened to him, and they knew the evil of the Goa'uld, but they welcomed him home with open arms. I still see the guy, and he's happy, Harry. You aren't going to feel like this forever."

"I don't have open arms to go home to."

"Heck, kid, you could stay at my place. You don't have to be alone.

"I still have guardians in London, I don't think you can just take me home with you."

"You want to go home to them?"

"No."

"Harry, when I say this, it's a reflection on them and not you: I think that they'd sign just about anything to get rid of you. That's their problem. You could come to my place, see how you like things, and if you don't, well hey, I notice you've got your own space ship."

"I took it from Osiris."

"Well it serves him right."

"You wouldn't want me in your house."

"Why not?"

"Because there's a reason the Dursleys didn't want me. They knew that I was a freak. Before Isis, before everything, I was already different. There was something inside of me that wasn't normal, the power that pushed out Isis. Could you let this into your home?"

The boy held his bare hand up and above his palm a ball of white light appeared, doing nothing but shining brightly. Jack was surprised for a moment, and though he felt like staring stupidly at it, he shrugged.

"I've seen stranger things." 'How the Hell was the kid doing that?'

"What?"

"Seriously, that's not all that strange compared to some of the things I've seen. As long as you avoid having any wild parties while I'm gone, I think we could manage." 'He'd never seen anyone from Earth do anything like that. Seriously weird.'

"But…"

"You seem like a nice kid. What do I care if you can make light come out of your hands? It's cool actually. Plus, it's rather impressive that you managed to push out a goa'uld parasite, which rather proves the point that sometimes it's good to be different."

"You're serious?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." The kid looked like he was finally ready to calm down. "It's going to be really hard, going on."

"Of course it is. This isn't going to be a walk in the park, but like I said, things are going to get better." Jack eyed the ship. "Have you been traveling with anyone else?"

"No. It's just been me."

"For how long?"

"About seven days."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Solitude can be your worst enemy after you go through something as terrible as what you've been through. You need people in your life. That's why I work with a team."

Harry shrugged. "I've always been alone."

"Well you don't have to be anymore. Come on, let's go introduce you to the rest of my team. They'll be happy to see you, we've been hoping to get you back to Earth ever since you were taken by Isis."

"Really?" Harry looked up at him doubtfully.

"Yes really. Now, I'll just radio ahead, tell them what's going on."

"Okay."

Jack turned on his radio. "Carter, this is Jack. The ship that landed was manned by Isis' host Harry. Apparently, he's free of the snake. He and I are coming to your position now."

Carter replied. "Are you sure of that sir."

"As sure as I can be. You can see for yourself when we get there, I'll meet you outside the village."

"Copy that, sir."

"O'Neill out." He turned to Harry. "It would probably make them feel better if you took off the hand device."

"Um, I can't. It's fused to me, I've tried to take it off but it won't. You can carry my knife though," he said, handing the object over.

"What do you mean fused?"

"Well, look for yourself. It's like it melted into my skin. It happened when I tried to push Osiris out of Sarah. The energy in me went through this arm, and it mixed with the naquedah in my blood. Then, suddenly it was flowing into the wrist device. There was this shock wave that knocked the two of us apart. Anyhow, the next day, I realized that it was fused to me somehow."

Jack examined the arm, and poked around the areas where metal met skin. It was almost hart to tell where one began and the other ended. He sighed and put the arm down.

"I suppose we'll see what we can do about that."

Harry shrugged. "I don't mind anymore, really. It's like it's a part of me now."

The two of them started walking to the village. "It's still a weapon though," said Jack, his voice taking on more emotion. "Kids and weapons don't mix, and nine year olds certainly shouldn't have them melted into their skin."

"I'm nine and a half," said Harry very pointedly.

Jack had to stop himself from laughing. "Yes, well, even that's too young."

"How old do you have to be then?"

Jack looked down at the hand device. "Yeah, I'm going to have to go with never."

Harry fell silent for the rest of the trip, and Jack wished that he hadn't pushed the subject. It probably hadn't been a good idea to point out that there was something seriously wrong with his situation.

Roughly a quarter of a mile from the village, Jack saw Sam and Teal'c waiting for them. Harry stopped short though, and pointed at Sam.

"You- I- I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry about, you know. Shooting you."

Sam looked surprised. Jack realized that half of Harry's body was behind him.

"Oh. Well, that's all right. I know you can't control what a goa'uld does with your body."

"But it must have hurt so much."

She shrugged, "I've been shot with those things too many times to count. It's really okay."

"Okay."

Jack introduced him to Sam and Teal'c. Harry seemed surprised when he realized that Teal'c was a jaffa, but not overly concerned.

Sam stepped forward and Jack stood aside, leaving nothing between Harry and Sam.

"Hi," said Harry, nervously.

"Hi," said Sam. She turned to the others. "I don't feel a symbiote in him."

Harry perked up. "You can sense goa'uld?"

She nodded. "I was a tok'ra, briefly."

He looked at her in confusion. You were briefly against Ra? Was this before you killed him?"

"You understand goa'uld?" They all turned to see Daniel coming towards them. He had a Zat in his hand, by his side, and Jack knew that he had been waiting for Sam's verdict, in case Harry had been a hostile.

Instead of replying though, Harry only stared at the man for a moment before saying. "You loved her."

Daniel sighed. "Yes, I did."

"They talked about you. I tried to help her to get rid of her symbiote, but I couldn't. I'm sorry, I helped get her away from Earth."

"Harry," Jack spoke up, "we already had this discussion."

"I would never blame a host," said Daniel, "for something a goa'uld had done. You don't need to apologize to me."

"I'm still sorry." Harry looked rather down cast, and Jack started thinking of happier things to talk about.

"I am too," said Daniel.

"But wait, you could go get her. She was stranded where I left her, on Calaissis. The Stargate was buried there."

"You went to Calaissis?"

"Yeah, it was the closest goa'uld occupied planet that they knew of, aside from Abidos. She's probably still there though. I don't think she could unbury the gate all by herself, and the locals weren't inclined to help her either." He looked up at the man. "How'd you hear about the planet though, if their gate's buried?"

"We're the ones that got them to burry the gate in the first place."

"Oh. Cool. But, we could go there now, and rescue her in my ship."

Daniel turned to Jack. "Jack."

"Daniel."

"We could go find her."

"It's, what, seven days away?"

"Yeah," answered Harry.

"We need to clear this with the SGC first. Compared to a seven day journey, that's not going to take all that long."

Daniel looked frustrated, but he didn't argue further. Harry on the other hand seemed to have been revitalized by the prospect of rescuing Sarah.

"I don't need clearance. Just give me a zat'ni'katel and I'll go get her."

They all looked at him with bemused expressions.

"Yeah, Harry, I think we'll give this a team effort. I like your enthusiasm, but I'd feel better if you didn't go this alone. Besides, you'll have a chance to see a doctor about that arm of yours."

"But-"

"Harry, you're still just nine-" Harry was about to interrupt him, "-and a half, the point is, it's our job to go after the bad guys, not yours. You also shouldn't be alone for another seven days."

Harry looked up at him, clearly debating with himself. "Okay. We'll do it your way."

!!

Two hours later, they had packed up all of their belongings, and arrived at the gate. Daniel dialed Earth, and Jack sent through his GDO before radioing in to Stargate Command.

Harry was nervous about returning to Earth. Certainly, there was a part of him that was anxious to let the grown-ups take care of everything, but in a way, he felt as though he had crossed a line of some sort, and he couldn't go back to just being a kid. Not that he'd ever been just a kid. Another part of him still was worried that they would throw him in a jail cell the moment he walked through the gate. Jack and his team seemed like nice people though, so he really didn't think that that would happen.

He was glad that Jack had stopped him at the cliff. At the time, Harry hadn't been able to conceive of any way to go on with his life. He knew that his solitude had had something to do with that. Still, even if he had made new friends, he knew that the guilt and shame that had plagued him weren't just going to leave him alone. Really, he had a hard time imagining himself being happy ever again. But he had decided to trust Jack, and Jack had told him that he'd feel better. He only hoped that the man was right.

"Stargate Command, this is Colonel O'Neil."

"Colonel O'Neil, this is Stargate Command."

"Be advised, we are returning early to bring home Harry Potter, former host to a goa'uld."

"We copy that Colonel."

"Warn our men in the gate room that the boy has a hand device fused to his skin. I don't want any of them getting jumpy."

"Copy that."

Sam, Daniel and Teal'c walked through the gate. Jack turned to Harry.

"You ready to go back to Earth?"

He shrugged. "I guess. I've never been through one of those before though."

"Well, there's nothing like it." He held out his arm towards the gate, and Harry understood the 'after you' gesture. Taking a deep breath, he walked through.


	2. 01 Rescue

Rescue

Rescue

Really, there wasn't much to the ride, aside from the sensation of being dematerialized and then rematerialized. On the other side, he was greeted by a large cement room and a lot of men with guns. Fortunately, none of them were pointed at him. There was an unarmed man at the bottom of the ramp who seemed to be in charge.

"Mr. Potter," the man greeted him. "My name is General Hammond, it's a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to Stargate Command."

'That's probably a good sign,' thought Harry. The General had extended his left hand, having already noticed the hand device on his right, and Harry shook it.

"It's nice to meet you too sir. Um, you can call me Harry." It wasn't as though the man was his teacher.

"Harry, then. I'm afraid your first stop is going to have to be the infirmary. You'll need to receive a full examination."

"To make sure I'm not still a host?"

"That, and it's standard procedure for anyone returning from another world. We don't know what you may have brought back with you."

"I understand."

"You can go with SG-1." He turned to the team. "We'll debrief at fifteen-hundred hours."

Jack spoke up. "Harry will need to be there sir."

"Oh?"

"He has important tactical information that may be time sensitive."

"I see. You can give me your report on P3X-217 first, and then we will invite him into the meeting. Dismissed."

Harry and SG-1 left through the large blast doors, and were followed by two soldiers, who Harry guessed were to guard him. Jack spoke up.

"Harry, just a heads up, Doctor Frasier was the other woman at the tomb in Egypt."

"Oh."

"Yeah, you really don't need to apologize for shooting her."

"I also hit her in the head."

"All the same, the words, 'I'm sorry,' don't need to pass through your lips."

Harry sighed. "I guess."

They entered the infirmary, where, sure enough, Doctor Frasier was there to greet them. Harry almost apologized, but he managed to restrain himself. She didn't seem angry with him.

The first test they ran on him was an x-ray, to make sure that he wasn't still host to a goa'uld. After that, he was subjected to various pokes and prods by one of the nurses. Then Dr. Frasier came over, and Harry gave in to the impulse to apologize to the woman.

"I'm sorry you got shot, back in Egypt."

"Oh, you don't need to apologize, Harry. I am quite all right. Now, I'm here to see about that arm of yours. I understand that there is a piece of technology stuck to it."

"It's not stuck, it's become a part of me. Here." He showed his arm to the woman who looked disturbed by what she was seeing. "It doesn't hurt," he said in response to her concern. "Really, it feels like a part of me now."

"Has there been any swelling, or change in skin color?"

"No."

She sighed. "I won't pretend to understand how that happened. We can look at it in depth later. For the moment, I'll clear you to leave, as soon as the blood tests return, but I expect you back her to take a closer look at that."

"Okay."

That was when she insisted that he take a nap. He tried to tell her that he was nine and a half, not five, but she thought that he looked exhausted. The truth was that he was exhausted, but still, nine and a half year olds weren't supposed to take naps. He was asleep two minutes after his head hit the pillow.

While Harry was asleep, Jack went over to Janet. He didn't want to have the conversation that he was about to have, but protocol demanded it.

"Doctor," he addressed her. "I need to speak with you in private."

"Alright," she led him into an adjoining room.

"I need to tell you that when I found him, Harry was suicidal."

"Oh no." She sighed. "What happened, exactly?"

"Shortly before Harry was able to free himself, Isis killed a boy. After he was free, he wound up isolated on a ship for seven days. When I found him, he was contemplating jumping off a cliff."

She sighed. "Did he try to?"

"He tried to try. I pulled him back before we could find out one way or the other. I was able to talk him down after that."

"What are your thoughts on the probability of him trying again?"

"I think the odds are slim, so long as he isn't isolated again. But, I don't know him very well."

"For the time being, we'll see to it that he isn't left alone with only guards for company. I'll talk to him myself to determine if he's at further risk."

"Yeah." He checked his watch. "We need to get to that debriefing. The kid should get something to eat before he's needed in the briefing room. He has about half an hour."

"I'll do that."

Jack walked out of the room.

!!

"Major Carter," said the General, "before we speak about the matter at hand, do you have anything to report on your original mission?"

"No sir, I haven't found anything conclusive yet to say whether the minerals we're looking for are there or not. It's too soon to say whether we'll find what we're looking for. When we get a chance, we'll have to go back and complete our search."

"I see. Colonel, tell me about how you found the boy."

"I was out taking a walk sir. Carter and Teal'c were checking for those minerals, and Daniel was talking to some of the town's people about their history. I came up on the coastline when I saw his ship descend.

"We never had any good pictures of the thing before, so I didn't recognize it, apart from the apparent goa'uld design. I radioed in to the rest of my team to tell them what was going on and took cover to gather more intel. The ship came to a stop about fifteen feet from the ground, and Harry ringed down from the ship. He was wearing a hood though, so I never got a look at his face. He proceeded to walk to the edge of the cliff that was there. When he stuck his arms out, I figured out what he was there for. I took a risk, and I confronted him."

Jack went on to relay his conversation with Harry, and their trip back both to the village, and to the Stargate."

"Very well, and you are proposing a mission to P3X-298?"

"Yes sir," said Daniel, "the planet, Calaissis, was one that we freed from a minor goa'uld. The Stargate there is buried. Unless Osiris received cooperation from the locals, which isn't likely, she would be hard pressed to unbury it in such a short amount of time. We believe that if we arrive there soon, we stand a chance of capturing Osiris and freeing Sarah."

"How are we going to get there if the Stargate is still buried?"

"That's where Harry comes in. He has a ship that could take us there inside of a week. The only problem is, I don't know that we'd be able to pilot it without him."

The General frowned. "I don't think I'm comfortable sending a nine year old into a combat situation, especially considering his condition."

"He wouldn't have to leave the ship though, and wouldn't travel through any goa'uld territory." Said Carter.

Jack spoke up. "What's more sir, he is currently our only option, and I believe that it is in his best interest for this mission to succeed."

"What do you mean, Colonel?"

"He feels guilty, about what he was forced to do as a host, and for not being able to free Sarah in the first place. We already know where that guilt took him once before."

The General sighed. "I'll consider it, and I'll want to speak to Doctor Frasier about her opinion on the boy's mental status. In the meantime, I'd like to hear what he has to tell us."

!!

Janet wound up taking Harry to get some food herself. The cafeteria was mostly empty, aside from Harry's guards by the door. For all that the boy looked half starved, he didn't eat much. He told her that he hadn't had much of an appetite for the past few days. She insisted though that he eat more than the meager portion than he had originally taken.

When he had finished eating, she decided that it was as good a time as any to speak to him.

"Harry." He looked up at her. "I wanted to talk to you about something important."

"About my arm?"

"No Harry, it's about how Colonel O'Neill found you."

Harry hung his head. "He told you about that?"

"Yes Harry, he was following protocol in telling me, and it's a good thing that he did. I'm your doctor right now, and it's important that I make sure that you're going to be okay."

"Okay."

"Now Harry, I'm going to ask you some questions, is that all right?"

He was toying with the food on his plate now. "I guess."

"Had you ever felt like doing something like that before?"

"No. I mean, when I was little, I wanted to go to heaven to be with my parents, but I never wanted to kill myself before."

"And before you were taken at the airport, do you remember how you used to feel? How often you were sad?"

"Um, I don't know. I wasn't always happy, if that's what you mean, but I could usually find something to be happy about. I mean, when I was sad, it was 'cause there was a reason."

"Alright. Now Harry, I don't want you to tell me what you think I want to hear, I need you to tell me the truth. Do you think that you might still want to hurt yourself?"

"Um, no. I mean, I don't feel real good still, but I don't want that anymore. Jack said that he was my friend now, and he told me that I could get better. I wanna be better."

"It will get better, Harry. It's okay to feel like this after what you've been through. Now, I believe that you have a meeting to go to."

"Okay," he perked up a little.

Five minutes later, Harry was sitting down at the conference table in the briefing room. He knew that he looked ridiculously small in his chair. He'd had to fiddle with the lever on the side so that more than just his head and shoulders were visible over the table.

The General addressed him. "First of all, Harry, I'd like you to relate to us roughly, what happened to you after you left Earth."

"Okay. Well, there's not a whole lot to tell. I suppose that I should start at before I left Earth though. After I was taken as a host, I, um, felt an energy inside of me that Isis couldn't see or control. I tried to use it to push him out, and I felt it working, but then he was able to attack me. He activated all of the pain receptors in my body, after that I passed out.

"After they left Earth, Osiris rested and Isis set in a course for Calaissis. They both wanted to learn more about the state of the galaxy, and how to regain their power. The trip took five months, and not much happened. They got to Calaissis, and ringed down by the gate, which had been buried. They walked into the village, announced themselves, and demanded to be shown to the local goa'uld.

"But the villagers wouldn't cooperate. They said that they didn't serve false gods, and they started to move in on them. That's when Osiris called for the ship to go to their position. The villagers started throwing rocks, so they activated their shields."

Major Carter interrupted him. "Personal shields don't work against rocks."

Harry shook his head. "These do. The technology was new when these were made, I guess. I don't know how they work now."

The Major looked like she was about to tell him exactly how they worked, but the General stopped her. "Another time Major. Right now, I'd like to hear his story."

"Right then. That was when things got really bad." He stopped and swallowed. "Isis killed a boy. To show them that he could, I guess. Osiris pushed them back with her hand device. Then the ship arrived and ringed them up. They were planning on firing on the village with the ship's weapons, that's when I decided that I had to try to push out Isis."

Harry proceeded to relate his struggles both with Isis and Osiris, before explaining his weeklong journey. He even explained the power that he had been experimenting with and his retention of goa'uld abilities.

"Um, anyhow, I reached Oberdad, and Jack probably told you the rest." He finished at a mumble.

"So you have all of Isis' memories?" asked Sam.

"Um, no. I know what he knows, but I don't have the… timeline, for his life. I know how a hyperdrive works and the state of the goa'uld hierarchy eight thousand years ago, but not how he and Osiris met, or his past deeds."

"Could you tell us about her hand device?" asked the General.

"Well, the shield works like I told you. It can't stop bullets or staff blasts, but it does stop a Zat'ni'katel, rocks, people, and the like."

"What about a dart?" asked Sam.

Harry thought about it. "It would have to be a heavy dart, traveling at a very high velocity; you'd could risk hurting the host. Ideally, you would hit her with a Zat'ni'katel first when she doesn't know that you're there. You'll also be able to track her through the device, it's tied into the ship."

"What else can it do?" asked the General.

"Well, it can usually communicate with the ship at short range, but I've stopped her from being able to control the ship. Otherwise, it's a normal hand device, it can torture or release a powerful shock wave."

Jack spoke up, "How capable is she of defending herself?"

"She is very physically capable. She isn't just strong; she knows how to use her body to defend herself. On the other hand, she's out of her element right now; she's used to having a guard of Jaffa."

"And her ship can take us there in seven days?" asked the General.

"Yes. But I'd need to fly it."

"And why is that?"

"Well, whether or not you know how to fly it, you can't do anything without this." He held up his right arm to show the hand device fused to it.

The General nodded. "Very well, I want a plan for this mission in half an hour. You have the briefing room." He got up to leave.

Jack called out to him. "Sir, I'd like to speak to you for a moment."

"In my office."

The two walked into his office.

!!

"What is it, Jack?"

Jack was seated across from General Hammond at the man's desk. He was nervous about what he was about to ask, but it felt right to him.

"I'd like to gain custody of Harry, sir."

General Hammond was clearly surprised. "You can't be serious."

"I am, sir. I think it's the only workable option, and what's more, I want to."

General Hammond sat back and crossed his arms. "Explain it to me then."

"Let's face it sir, the kid doesn't have a lot of options. If he goes back to England, it's either to an unfit home, or foster care. Either way, he's alone with what's happened to him.

"On the other hand, he is already a US citizen, and I think it would be pretty easy to get his relatives to sign him over. If he's here, he can still go to school and lead a half-way normal life. More importantly though he'd be able to be a part of this. He won't be able to forget this, we can help him do something constructive with what's happened to him, and we can help to give him a future. The stuff that's in his head can help us to play catch-up with the goa'uld. He could come in a couple days a week and work with all the scientists.

"Besides all that, the boy's going to be target of the trust no matter what. At least this way, he'd have more protection from being abducted."

"And you want to do this?"

Jack sighed. "There's always been a part of me that's still a father. Now, I've made a connection with this kid, and I think he needs me." He had been broken ever since his son Charlie had died, he saw Harry was a chance to move forward.

General Hammond contemplated him for a moment. "I'll get the ball rolling, see what our options are. In the meantime, I want you to think about this, and I want you to talk to Harry about this. You've only known the boy a few hours, and you'll have plenty of time during the mission, provided that Dr. Frasier clears him to leave."

"I understand, sir."

!!

When Jack had left his office, George sat back to think about the conversation that he had just had with his senior officer. Really, he shouldn't have been so surprised by the man's request. Jack was well known for becoming soft around children, and had risked his career before in an effort to help a child. Still, while he hoped that everything would work out for the Colonel, George hoped that this wouldn't get in the way of the man's work with the SGC.

He called Janet Frasier, summoning her to his office.

"Good afternoon, Doctor," he said when she arrived. "Please, sit down."

"I take it you want my opinion on Harry Potter, sir?"

"That's right. I want to know if you think I should entrust the security of a two week long mission to a nine year old, who was suicidal not three hours ago."

"How much danger would the boy be in anyway?"

"Minimal. The boy would stay in the ship, which wouldn't fly through goa'uld space."

"On a good day, I'd say he'd do fine. He's already triumphed over an extremely challenging situation. Of course, this isn't a good day. However, in my opinion, his suicidal ideation was caused by short term factors and do not represent a long-term trend."

"So your recommendation is that we send him on the mission?"

"If that is your only option, then yes, it should benefit him greatly if Sarah is rescued. If it isn't though, my recommendation is that you put him in a stable environment with someone who can take care of him."

George nodded. "We're working on that last part. Do you have anything else to add?"

"I'd tell you to not leave him alone during the mission, but given the size of the ship, I'd say he'll be hard pressed to find any privacy. I don't doubt that the Colonel at least will be there for the boy to talk to. Just make sure he brings along something to keep him entertained for two weeks."

"I'll make sure SG-1 doesn't have to travel two weeks with a bored nine year old. Dismissed."

!!

Five hours later, SG-1 and one nine-year-old boy stepped through the Stargate. The team brought with them both their usual gear plus everything they expected to need for a two-week journey. Jack was unsure about the mission, and not just because this was the first time they were taking a kid off world. Their only options to take Osiris were to take her by surprise with a zat, or to shoot her through her shield.

Sam turned to Harry. "We never asked, can you call the ship when it's landed, or are we walking there?"

He answered her. "We can ring up."

Sam shook her head. "You need line of sight for that. The ship's about three miles away through the forest."

"No, it's in orbit. I sent it up before we walked through the gate."

Sam looked surprised. "Just how much control do you have over the ship?"

"Oh. Well, I can do anything with it that I can do with the controls. And more."

Jack stopped her before she could grill him on just what 'more' means. "Carter, we've got plenty of time for this discussion later. Right now, I'd like to get under way."

"Yes, sir." The look on her face made him feel like he'd just canceled Christmas. Seriously, science was like crack for that woman.

They made their way over to the rings, and stood with all of their supplies around them. Harry tapped his hand device, and the rings sprung up around them. The next they knew, the world around them was replaced by a room. Daniel was the first to speak up.

"Now this is interesting," he said, looking around.

"Daniel?" asked Jack.

"It's just, how goa'uld architecture has changed over eight thousand years. I mean, there are clear differences, and yet-"

"Daniel," Jack said. The guy was as bad as Sam was. "We just got here."

"It's interesting," said the man defensively.

"Let's just get set up first, then the two of you can dissect the place."

"What?" asked Harry with an edge of alarm.

"Not literally," Jack reassured him.

"Before we do anything, I'll set us on course for Calaissis."

That piqued Sam's interest. "You can do that from here?"

"I already told you. I can do anything through this. Brace yourself for acceleration."

Moments later they felt the ship shoot forward, before things went back to normal.

Harry nodded, and set about showing them around the ship. There were two bedrooms. Harry kept his, and, as Sam was the only woman among them, she got the other. The rest of them set up camp in the living area; Jack pulled rank to get the couch like piece of furniture.

After they had settled in, they mostly went their separate ways. Sam had dragged Harry off to ask questions about different systems, and how he controlled them mentally. Daniel was walking around with his notebook muttering to himself about architecture of all things. This left Teal'c and Jack to while away time. They settled on cards.

!!

As Harry and Major Carter walked through the ship, Harry grew increasingly self-conscious under the woman's amazed attention and frustration. He felt like a puzzle box under the woman's gaze, and not just because of how much he knew about the ship's systems. Everything about him was an anomaly to the woman, to be figured out. That he had to use many goa'uld words to explain concepts to her only served to frustrate her. She had decided to go find Daniel to serve as a translator for them.

"Really," she said, "You'll need to learn about science on Earth, if only to learn the right words."

That did sound interesting to Harry. He hadn't put much thought at all into his future. "You think I could do that?"

"Well, yeah. Why not? I mean, you'd need to go to a lot of normal classes with kids your age, but there's no reason that you couldn't take some advanced courses at a high school or college. Maybe you could even come to the SGC. I think there's plenty of people there who'd like to trade knowledge with you, me included."

Harry made a noncommittal noise.

"Oh, I mean, you wouldn't have to do any of that if you didn't want to. You do have a lot of options, though we'd have to keep you safe from people who would want to use you."

"I'm not sure if I could do any of that from my home in England."

She looked at him in surprise. "Didn't Colonel O'Neill tell you? You really don't have to go back there. When he and Daniel went to England, they told the authorities there about your living conditions. Your relatives are under investigations, it won't take much to get you out of there forever. After that, you have a few options, including staying in the US, since you are a citizen."

"What are you talking about, I'm a British citizen."

"Yes, but you were born in the US, meaning that you're also technically a US citizen. No one ever told you?"

He shook his head. He knew that it wasn't a big detail, aside from giving him the option to stay in the US, but it seemed like a big thing to find out something about his parents. They had been in the US when he was born. Or maybe just his mother; he'd have to try to find out more.

When they found Daniel, they realized that he wouldn't be of much help to them. While he knew a lot of the goa'uld language, he wasn't fluent in its scientific jargon. He wasn't completely unable to help, but the man could only guess at most of what Harry said in goa'uld. Teal'c wasn't much better. Major Carter decided to put off her exploration of the ship's systems. She seemed determined to get something out of Harry. They settled in the living area and she changed subjects.

"So what can you tell me about the energy you feel?"

"Well, first off, I guess, it's everywhere. I think so anyway. It's in the vacuum of space, it's in all of us."

"Like the Force!" interjected Jack.

"Huh?" asked Harry.

"You know, the Force, from Star Wars."

"Oh," said Harry, a little self-conscious for not knowing, "I never got to see a lot of movies."

"Well, we're just going to have to remedy that, now aren't we?" He turned to Teal'c. "We brought it didn't we?"

"Indeed we did."

"You brought videos along? How are you going to play them?"

"You didn't think we'd let you go stir-crazy for two weeks did you? And we brought DVDs. They'll play on one of the laptops we brought."

"How will you power laptops for two weeks? I mean, I think I could work something out to hook you into the system. Let me think."

"Actually," said Sam, "the General let us bring a naquedah generator. It's mostly so that we have an emergency power supply, but it will also be able to power everything we brought with us."

"Oh, cool. Maybe you could tell me how it works?"

"I will, but could you tell me a little more about this power? If it's in the vacuum of space, well, it's been theorized that you can get energy from a vacuum. Can you describe it better, maybe classify it?"

"Well, I don't know about classifying it, but, it's like, it doesn't follow any of the rules of science. That I know of anyway. The goa'uld weren't that clever, really. But even the laws of science that they taught us in school don't predict what I think it could do. It's like it's a short cut for manipulating energy. I have the feeling that I've just scratched the surface of what I can do with it."

She stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "That really doesn't make any sense."

Was she angry at him? "I'm sorry." Best to say it, just in case.

"No, it's okay. It's not your fault. The thing is, it's hard to say if it doesn't make sense because this energy really doesn't conform to the laws of the universe, as we know them, or if how it feels to you isn't how it really is. I can't fault you either way. We'll have to see, later, if there's a way to observe this power in action."

"Well look," he said, holding up his hand and creating the ball of light. "The energy needed to create this light is roughly five kilo-calories every minute. But I could hold it for hours without seeming to expend any energy of my own. In fact, I could put it down, sort of tie it off," he pulled his hand away, leaving the ball hanging in mid air. "And even though I'm leaving it alone, it keeps on going. There also aren't any perceptible temperature or chemical changes in the area around it. The ship can't tell where the energy is coming from."

"Which seems to support your belief that the energy is everywhere. Maybe you could help us to find a way to detect this energy."

Harry shrugged. He really didn't know what he'd be doing after they took Sarah back to Earth.  
!!

It was a day later that Harry watched episode four of Star Wars. ("Wait, shouldn't we see episode one first?") He, Jack, and Teal'c had watched it in the living area after lunch. Harry was still exercising in the mornings, to the surprise of the others. In the evening, he'd try working with his power, and Major Carter had asked to watch.

After the movie (which had prompted a number of 'think you could do that's' from Jack, in regards to the Force), Jack stuck around in the living area, while Teal'c went off.

"So, Harry," said Jack, "Sam spoke to you a few times yesterday about your future, what was going to happen to you."

"Yeah."

"I got the impression that you don't have a clue about what's going to happen to you when you get back to Earth."

"Well, I've sort of been wondering if…"

"If…"

"It's just, that I was a little worried that I'd be locked up in a lab somewhere, or something like that. They do stuff like that on TV." Really, as long as they didn't plan any autopsies, it would probably be better than the Dursleys.

Jack snorted. "This isn't the X-Files, kid. We're not going to just lock you up somewhere. You're a minor, a US citizen, and a citizen of a US ally. Even if you weren't, we still wouldn't lock you up. We don't get to do that. Which isn't to say that all the geeks at the SGC wouldn't be psyched if you agreed to some non-invasive tests. Scans and the like, no probes involved."

"You sure?"

"I'll tell you what. Anyone tries to lock you away for experiments, I'll shoot them."

Harry stifled a laugh. "Okay."

"Now, Harry, I was wondering if you remembered what I said back on Oberdad when we met."

Was he talking about- "You mean about… living… with you?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. 'Cause it's okay if you didn't mean it. I mean, I was about to, you know, so you could have said anything."

"I meant it."

"You did?" The man nodded. "And you still want to?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Er. Why?" No one had ever wanted him before, so he couldn't figure out why this guy would. Harry didn't discount the possibility that the man wasn't quite all there in the head. Though if he was, Harry wouldn't complain.

"Well, it's complicated, I guess. There isn't really just one answer." He cleared his throat. "I was a father, once. I had a boy, Charlie, who died when he was eight. He found my handgun, and he shot himself on accident. Ever since then, there's been a part of me that's been empty, and I… haven't been willing… to fill it." He took a deep breath, and Harry realized that he had probably never said any of this before. "I blamed myself for what happened, and I've never been able to put myself in a position to let something like that happen again. But now, I think you need me, as much as I need you."

Harry didn't say anything for a few seconds, thinking about what Jack had said. "So, you needed someone who needed you?"

Jack shook his head. "No. I didn't need someone; you're not just a someone. You're a special kid, Harry. And I don't mean because you have unexplained powers, or because you have a bunch of knowledge crammed into your head. You survived Isis, and it wasn't just because of your power. Then, you were planning to chase down Osiris alone, you were willing to spend another seven days alone on this ship to go and do it. You are a special kid, and I'd like to help you."

"So, you want _me." _He didn't know if he could believe that.

Jack nodded, "Yes. And you don't have to answer now, you have two weeks to think it over, maybe think of a something else if you want to."

"Er, maybe you could ask me again in two weeks."

"Okay."

"And, it's okay if you don't still want to. I'd understand if you didn't want to still do it, then." Harry really didn't want to live anywhere that he wasn't really welcome, and he didn't want Jack to come to see him as the Dursleys had.

Jack looked like he was going to disagree, but then he closed his mouth before saying, "If it will make you feel better, I'll ask again when we get back to Earth. Deal?"

Harry sighed. "Deal."

!!

As promised, Harry had allowed Sam to watch him work with his powers. He hadn't thought that he would be comfortable with her watching him like that, but he was surprised to find that he actually liked that she had taken such an interest in his abilities. She was very enthusiastic about them, even though they still didn't make any sense to her. She was always asking questions, some to him, and some to herself. Harry found that he liked the attention, but better yet, she knew that he was so different, all of SG-1 did for that matter, and they didn't seem to think less of him for it. He liked that.

After he had practiced with his power, he had given the team basic instructions on how to work the ship. It had seemed almost pointless to him, since the ship only worked when one of the two hand devices was present, and he could control the ship mentally. On the other hand, if anything happened to him, he supposed that they should know how to get back home. They had been quick learners, having been exposed to goa'uld technology before.

The night before, Harry had slept surprisingly well, but he didn't have so much luck the next night. It was five o'clock by the ship's twenty-four hour based clock when Sam found him in the ring room. Over and over, the rings were coming up out of the floor, dematerializing and rematerializing a pen that Harry had placed in the middle. Harry was watching it with an almost vacant expression on his face.

"Harry," she said after a minute of watching this, "what are you doing?"

He looked up at her in surprise. He had been too unaware of his surroundings to hear her approach. "Oh. Hi."

"Good morning."

"I, um, I think I can do this." Harry had had the idea shortly after he had given up pacing in his room. He had been watching the rings for almost an hour.

A mental command stopped the rings. "I think that I can do what the rings do, without any technology."

She didn't say anything for a minute, puzzling out how he could do that. "I don't understand. Do you think you can act as a conduit for the energy?"

Harry gave a rare smile, and before she could object, he focused on the pen. He didn't quite know how the process worked as Isis hadn't understood the technology, but more importantly, his mind had been in the ring platform while it had been working, and he had pushed out his energy, his Force, to feel the energy that took apart, and reassembled mater. He could do this. With his mind, Harry directed his energy to break down the pen, and to shoot it to a point just in front of him. A line of energy joined the two points momentarily, before the pen popped back into existence in front of him.

Harry's smile turned into a grin. "I did it!" he cried, jumping up.

For a moment, Sam was too stunned to say anything. "Wow." She looked at Harry. "That's incredible. How did you…" She shook her head. "Oh, my God, that's incredible."

Harry nodded. "I knew I could do it." He bent down to pick up the pen, examining it. "I think I could do myself."

Sam's eyes widened. "Wait, what? Harry-" But before she could object, Harry had already focused inward, filling himself with the energy. Sam could only watch, as he disappeared. A line of golden light appeared, connecting Harry's former position to a point on the other side of the room, where Harry appeared. Harry looked around himself, and ran his hands around his body as though making sure he was still whole.

"Yes! That was amazing!" He was actually jumping up and down, suddenly hyper from his success. He turned to Sam. "Did you see that? I transported myself."

Sam walked over to him, looking at Harry as though she were trying to make sure that he was whole herself, and that he wasn't just going to fall down dead. Assured that he was whole, she addressed him. "Harry, that was incredible. But you can't just do that."

Harry wasn't quite sure what she was talking about. "But I just did."

She shook her head. "That's not what I mean. I mean don't do that, again."

"But why not, it works."

"No, don't try something dangerous like that again, without making sure that you won't get hurt. Harry, what if you hadn't been able to rematerialize yourself. I mean, really, it should have been impossible. How could you direct yourself while you weren't anything but energy?" Her eyes drifted upward, the way they did when she was pondering something. "I suppose you may have just answered the mind/brain question, but still. You could have died trying that."

Harry was a little confused. "But I didn't die." Why was she making a big deal out of this, he was fine. He was better than fine.

She shook her. "That's hardly the point. You can't just jump into something like that. I'm sure that you thought things through, and you realized, somehow, that you'd be able to follow the transportation through, but you couldn't have really known it. Harry terrible things happen to even the most brilliant of scientists when they cut corners and take unnecessary risks. I don't want that to happen to you too."

Harry wasn't feeling so great anymore. "But I'm really okay, I knew that I could keep my mind independent of my body." He protested, though he knew that she was right.

She shook her head and said, "Sometimes, I forget that you're nine years old."

"Nine and a half," Harry said reflexively.

"Right. The point is, that regardless of how smart you are right now, planning these things out isn't going to be your strong point right now."

Harry was forced to accede her point, though he didn't vocalize his agreement.

"Instead of talking about what-might-have-been, why don't we talk about what you could do in the future. That's what my mother did when I was your age."

"What should I do then?"

"Well, take this experiment, for example. You had a thought that you could transport matter instantaneously. You should recognize that this is completely different from anything you've tried before. When you realize that, you need to think the problem out in detail, try to pinpoint any area where it might not work, or where it might get dangerous. When you're done with that, you share your idea with someone else, who would know what you're talking about. Then, you start out small, trying to prove different concepts of your theory, before putting it all together. It takes a while, but it helps to prevent anything bad from happening."

"You do that every time you try something new?" It did seem like a lot. That could have taken days, or longer.

She actually looked a little sheepish, and ducked her head a little. "Sometimes, I don't always have the luxury of doing all that. Sometimes, I have to make something work, or the world ends, stuff like that. But in cases like that, it's a lesser of two evils."

"Oh," he said, a little disappointed that he would almost always be expected to do that. "I guess I could try that."

She sighed, as though she had been released from a burden. "Thanks, Harry. Really, you need to take better care of yourself. What are you doing up so early, anyway? Surely this could all have waited for morning."

"Oh. Well, I had a bad dream, and I could get back to sleep."

"Aw. What sort of bad dream."

"Oh, you know, naked in front of my class, back at school." That was the sort of funny yet scary dream that normal kids had. He thought that she could tell that he was lying, but she didn't call him on it. Really, though, he didn't want to admit to dreaming about killing people.

"Sounds like fun." Jacks voice came from the doorway. "Who's up for some breakfast?"

!!

The next few days went by uneventfully. Harry had watched the Star Wars trilogy and a few other movies. He found that he was able to relax somewhat around the members of SG-1. The rest of the team had of course been quite amazed by Harry's ability to teleport, and none of them had realized the potentially dangerous consequences that Harry had faced in first trying it. Harry had spoken to Sam (she insisted that he didn't need to call her Major, or Doctor) at length about the ability. Not just about how it worked, but also the limitations that Harry felt it had. He couldn't just transport through walls, of that he was sure. He would need either line of sight, or he would need to move through existing ring terminals, which largely defeated the purpose if he were say, trying to move from one ship to another. It had prompted him to think about different forms of transportation. Sam had mentioned Asgard beaming technology, which Harry would have given anything to see first hand.

As they got closer to Calaissis, they spent more of their time talking about the mission they were on. They all kept on thinking of more questions to ask Harry about Osiris: how she thought, how she planned, how capable she was. Harry wound up discussing, at length, the sparring she and Isis had done. Teal'c especially had been interested in this form of sparring, and after Harry had given them a demonstration, the man had offered to help him practice. Harry was glad for the opportunity to practice. He still didn't like the thought of hurting anyone in the future, but even as a host, there had been something relaxing about the sparring.

Eventually though, they reached the planet, and all levity ended. Jack, Sam, and Teal'c would be going down to the planet to capture Osiris, while Daniel and Harry would stay with the ship. The ships scanners homed in on Osiris' hand device, and Harry landed the ship about a mile away from her position. She was camped on a road between two villages. They were going to travel by night, hoping to capture her in her sleep. She had a campfire going, and they would use that to pinpoint her location on the ground.

As they were about to ring down to the planet, Jack spoke up. "We'll bring her back, guys. I promise you that."

Harry nodded, and Daniel said, "I know." Harry activated the rings, and the three of them disappeared as they were engulfed in bright light.


	3. 02 Desperation

Desperation

Harry discovered that he wasn't very good at waiting for other people to save the day. He spent the time watching the sensor display, looking at Osiris' position. Wherever SG-1 was right then, they couldn't be seen by the ship's imaging scanners while the ship was on the ground. Harry wished that the ship was capable of detecting life signs, but eight thousand years ago, the goa'uld had not yet been capable of replicating life-detecting technology, though they had discovered ancient devices capable of it.

Seeking distraction, he turned to Daniel. "So, how did you meet her?"

The man was quiet for a moment before answering. "We were both students together, we were mentored by Dr. Jordan."

"You both studied archeology?"

He nodded. "That's right. We studied Ancient Egypt, mostly, but we both had other interests. We interned under Dr. Jordan, he took us on our first real expedition. We excavated a small tomb just outside of Gaza. It wasn't anything terribly special, but we were terribly excited. Sarah and I became," he paused, "close, on that trip."

"She was your girlfriend?"

"She was. We were together for a few years."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, we broke up. My work got in the way of things, along with my theories."

"What was wrong with your theories?"

"Well, for one, people thought that they were crazy. I theorized that the pyramids were built long before it is generally believed that they were, at a time when the ancient Egyptians wouldn't have been able to. The crazy part came when I speculated that they had had outside help."

Harry grinned, "You mean aliens?"

"I actually never said 'aliens', and I never used the words 'landing pads'. But that's what everyone said."

"But you were right about everything."

Daniel shrugged. "All that mattered was that I sounded like a nut. No one would examine my evidence without it being a joke."

"So she broke up with you for it?"

"No, I left actually. Our relationship wasn't going very well, and I knew that my publicity could bring her and my other colleagues down with me, so I left. I tried to find more proof for my theories, and eventually I found the Stargate program."

"What's it like? What you do, I mean?"

Daniel pondered the question. "Well, when I first joined the program, I didn't even know what it was. I had no idea why the Air Force was so interested in ancient cover stones. But then, I figured out the meaning of the stones, and they showed me the Stargate.

"At the time, we thought that it only went to one other planet, Abidos. I was part of the expedition that first went through the gate. That was when we killed Ra, by the way.

"Anyway, at the time, for me it was all about discovering something new." He smiled. "By the end of the expedition, I'd married a local woman, and was content to stay there." He was silent for a moment.

"So what happened?" asked Harry, already knowing that it wouldn't be a happy answer.

Daniel sighed. "We had thought that Ra was the last of his kind, but we were wrong, of course. With Ra dead, Apophis was free to go to planets Ra had previously owned. At the time, he was looking for new hosts for his son and wife. He took a soldier from Earth, and my wife and her brother. Sha're and Skarra."

"Is she still out there?"

Daniel shook his head. "We tried to capture her, but it didn't work out. She was killed to save my life."

"I'm sorry." Harry was almost sorry that he had asked. "So why do you do it now?"

"Well, a lot of reason's, I suppose. It's important work, exciting, fulfilling, I'm working with friends; with people who don't think I'm crazy."

They both smiled. Daniel continued, "So I spilled, now it's your turn."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but he grudgingly had to admit that fair was fair. "Er, all right, what do you want to know?"

"Well," Daniel said, "What do you miss about Earth?"

Harry pondered the question. There wasn't much that he really missed.

"I'd have to say, the spiders." Harry finally said.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Are you an arachnophile?"

Harry shook his head. "They're rather annoying actually. I was just _used_ to waking up to them, I guess. I was used to everything. I didn't like it, but everything's different now, and I don't know what to expect anymore."

Harry was saved from saying anything more when Daniel's radio chirped.

"Daniel, this is Jack, do you read?" Harry became suspenseful again.

"I read, what's your status?"

"Everything went according to plan, Osiris is unconscious and bound." Harry let out a sigh of relief.

Daniel answered, "I copy that we will move to your position now."

Before he finished talking, Harry had all ready taken the ship off the ground and zoomed over to Osiris' position. Two minutes later, the team had ringed aboard.

Osiris was on the ground, her hands and feet bound by very heavy black zip-ties. Harry grinned at the sight.

"Now Harry," said Jack, "do you remember what we said we weren't going to do?"

Harry rolled his eyes. They had decided that while Harry thought that he could remove Osiris, they would keep her prisoner, and transport her to the Tok'ra.

"I know," he said. "How did it go?"

"It couldn't have gone any better. Right Teal'c?"

The large man inclined his head. "The mission did indeed go according to plan"

"Cool," said Harry.

Daniel walked into the room, and everyone fell silent. He knelt besides Sarah, and brushed the hair out of her face. He looked up. "We should move her to her room," he said.

Jack nodded and helped him carry her out of the ring room. They had already decided that she would be kept in Sam's room, bound, and sedated such that she couldn't kill the host. Harry had been told that he wasn't to go into the room with her.

"I'll set a course for Oberdad then," said Harry. He was glad that they had captured Sarah, but he knew that it would be weird having Osiris on the ship for a week. If he were honest with himself, it would probably be rather upsetting.

!!!!!

Twelve hours later, and it was the ships artificial night. Harry had woken form another nightmare. Checking his watch, he saw that it would be a couple of hours until breakfast. Disparaging the prospect of getting back to sleep, Harry got out of bed and made his way to the control room, hoping that some member of SG-1was awake to spend time with. He knew that Jack was currently guarding Osiris, but he wasn't allowed in that room. He found the rest of the team to still be asleep. He settled into one of the command chairs. He was still too tired to do anything, so he stared out the window into hyperspace.

A while later, he snapped to awareness as he heard the door close behind him. He turned to greet whoever had walked through the door, and had to dive out of the way as a blast from a zat'ni'katel shot at him. Osiris stood at the other end of the room. Harry sent out a wave of energy from his hand device, sending Osiris into the wall. He used his energy to keep her on the wall, as though a hand were pushing against her chest. He ran forward to pick up the zat, which lay at her feet.

It was one of those unrestrained feet that kicked Harry in the head, ending his concentration. He tried to bring the zat to bear, but she knocked it from his hand sending it across the room. Osiris drew an already bloody knife, and Harry pulled his own, and suddenly they where sparring again. This time though it wasn't for sport. Harry felt his body move instinctually, blocking and attacking. Even so, Harry took a cut to his arm. He couldn't tell how long their deadly dance lasted, but Harry suddenly kicked the knife out of her hand and took her to the ground in two quick moves.

Not wasting a second, Harry grabbed her head and thrust his power into her. Immediately finding purchase with the symbiote, he severed her connection to the host. As he did so, he felt the familiar feeling of a connection forming between Osiris and himself. Ignoring it, he continued to push against Osiris, even as information started flooding his brain. He heard the symbiote exit Sarah before he saw it, and when the two were completely separate, Harry wasted not time in grabbing the snake and killing it as he had Isis. Panting, Harry let himself collapse, his jumbled mind becoming too much to handle, Harry slid into unconsciousness.

!!!!!

Teal'c came to with a familiar headache. He recognized the effects of a zat'ni'katel blast. His radio drew his attention, and he realized that it was what had woken him in the first place.

"Anyone that can read me, please respond."

It was colonel O'Neill's voice. He answered, "Colonel O'Neill, what has happened?"

"That snake stabbed me, I can't get up. Rouse the others, find Harry, and find Osiris."

"Understood." He shook Major Carter, who had been sleeping on the couch.

"Oh!" she said, clutching her head. "What happened?"

"Osiris has escaped. Colonel O'Neill requires medical attention in her room. I must find her and Harry."

She got to her feet quickly, if not steadily. "Right, I'll wake Daniel, you go find them."

He inclined his head and left, going first to the control room. Entering he found the three beings on the floor. Osiris was obviously dead. He checked both Harry and Sarah for a pulse before checking for major injuries. Finding only a cut on Harry's arm, he quickly bandaged it before he picking the boy up and carrying him to his room. Setting him on the bed he made his way to the other bedroom. Sam was tending to a grunting O'Neill.

He turned to Daniel, "how is he?"

"I'm not sure, really."

Sam spoke up. "No major organs were damaged, but he needs medical attention sooner rather than later. What's going on out there?"

"Osiris appears to be dead, the host remains alive thought both she and Harry Potter are unconscious."

"Where are they?" asked Daniel

"I have placed Harry in his bed. Sarah remains in the control room though."

"I'll go see to her then."

Teal'c nodded. "Harry Potter received an injury on his arm, I will tend to it further."

"Wait, Teal'c," said Carter, did Harry ever mention having a healing device on board?"

"I do not believe he ever mentioned it."

She shook her head. I guess it never really came up."

"Will he recover without one?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "If we're lucky."  
!!!!!

Harry awoke to a rather irritating headache. Sorting through all of that information had been taxing, to say the least. Groaning, he sat up. "Oh, Osiris was a lot smarter than Isis."

"Harry!" said a startled Sam from a chair next to his bed.

"Hm?" said a startled Harry.

"You're awake. Oh, I was getting worried there."

"How long?" Harry mumbled.

"Two days. Sarah told us everything that happened."

"Mm, is she all right?"

"Sarah's fine."

Harry nodded and started to get out of bed.

Sam stood up and held her hands out. "Whoa there, Harry, that might not be such a good idea. What do you need, I can get it for you."

Harry slumped back down. "Water."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

She walked away, and Harry let his head slump into his pillow. He thought that there was something he was supposed to remember, but he couldn't think of what it was. When she came back, he drank the water greedily.

"Harry," said Sam, "is there a healing device on board?

Harry shook his head. "They only had one. I think one of them must have had it when they were captured." He started to feel drowsy again. "Hey, Sam?" I think I'm going to sleep again. Okay?" The world faded around him.  
!!!!!

When next he awoke, Harry felt much better. At least, he did until he remembered what it was that he had forgotten.

"Jack!"

"Harry." This time it was Daniel.

"Is Jack okay?" Harry remembered the blood on Osiris' knife.

"Harry," said Daniel cautiously, "Jack was stabbed."

Harry's face slackened. "Is… is he okay?"

"He's alive, but Harry, he hasn't had proper treatment, and we're still four days away from a Stargate. Right now, Jack is… slipping."

Harry shook his head, "No. No. We'll just have to make the ship go faster then."

"The ship's going as fast as it can right now."

"That's because the goa'uld are stupid and unimaginative." He'd had this idea before he'd even met SG-1, but he had never tried it, due to the fact that it seemed crazy. But right now seemed like a crazy time. He understood exactly how his ship's hyperdrive worked, but more importantly, he could feel it. Through his hand device and his connection with the ship, he was a part of everything. He could tell that the ship had a potential for much greater speeds, the energy just had to be used in the right way. He knew that he could manipulate energy, and he thought that he could manipulate the ships hyperspace window generator to get the effect that he wanted.

Harry reached out with his mind, through the hand device, and then into the ship. He sought out the ship's hyperdrive and connected with it. He felt the part of the hyperdrive that he needed to change, and willed the energy to flow in the way that he wanted it too, changing the crystals that controlled the engine. He felt himself being pressed back for a few seconds as the inertial dampeners struggled to keep up with the ship's acceleration.

Sam rushed into the room. "What just happened?"

Daniel gestured to Harry.

"I made the ship go faster."

"Faster," said Sam, "how much?"

Harry delved into the system, "I think about 180 times faster."

Sam's eyes widened. "That leaves us with about half an hour." She shook her head. "But Harry, that might not be fast enough."

"What do you mean? We can heal him; we can make him better. I made us go faster."

"Harry," Daniel said, "maybe he can make it, but Jack's only just hanging on. He could go at any time." He sighed. "Even if we do get him to Earth, there's no saying that we would be able to help him."

Harry shook his head, as though willing himself not to hear the words. "I wanna see him."

Sam looked like she was going to protest, but Daniel nodded and led him out of the room to the bedroom opposite. Jack was lying on the bed; Sarah was sitting next to him. The man wasn't conscious and he looked barely alive. His skin was pale and clammy. Harry felt his eyes water at the sight of him. He knelt by the bed and took Jacks hand.

"I was going to live with you Jack, I would have said yes." He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Sarah looking at him with anguish in her eyes. Harry sank to the ground, crying. "He saved me, and now I can't save him."

But then, why couldn't he? Harry knew that he could mimic any sort of energy, so why not a healing device? Sure, he had never even seen one before, but he knew _how_ it worked.

Standing up, Harry wiped off his tears, and concentrated on the theory behind the healing device. They worked on will power anyway, on the users knowledge of how to heal.

"Harry," said Daniel cautiously, but Harry didn't pay him any attention. Instead, he placed his hand over Jack's wound. A light appeared, and both Harry and Jack gasped. The light penetrated into the wound, mingling with the damaged tissue. Harry could actually feel the wound heal as he directed it to. Feeling his work done, Harry released the energy, and would have collapsed if hands from behind hadn't steadied him.

From the bed, Jack gasped and tried to sit up, before realizing that he couldn't. His eyes fell on Harry.

"Hey, you're awake," he said.

"Yeah," said Harry, a laugh in his voice.

"That's good." The man closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.


	4. 03 Home

Home

Back at the SGC, Harry, Jack, and Sarah were still in the infirmary, though Harry had protested that he really was fine. Sam was being debriefed by General Hammond with Daniel and Teal'c.

"I still don't understand how you completed the mission in ten days, major, you said yourself that the journey to the planet took seven."

Sam cleared her throat. Really, people needed to understand that stories needed to be told in order. That was they only way that made sense.

"Harry did that sir, he greatly increased the ship's speed, but I still don't know how. As I was saying, Osiris managed to escape not long after we capture her. I think she must have adapted to the sedative. It seems that she had a knife hidden in a small secret compartment.

She stabbed the Colonel, and then stunned the three of us as we slept. Harry was already awake, and he was able to fight her. I don't know the specifics, but he bested her and was able to eject her from Sarah. I can't be sure, but I believe that Harry again took on the knowledge of the symbiote."

"You aren't sure?"

"Well, I never had a chance to ask, but when he first woke up, he grabbed his head and said that Osiris was a lot smarter than Isis."

"I see."

"Anyway, somehow, when Harry heard about the Colonel, he was able to interact with the ship, resulting in an increase in speed, making us travel roughly 180 times faster. Again, sir, I don't know how."

"And the Colonel's injury?"

Sam shook her head. "If I had to guess, sir, I'd say he mimicked a healing device. That's certainly what it looked like."

"When would he have had time to learn to do this?"

Daniel spoke up. "I don't think he did, it seems to me like he had the idea right there."

The general seemed exasperated. "There are a lot more 'somehows' and 'unknowns' in this situation than I am comfortable with. Exactly what can't he do? It seems to me that he's done everything he's set out to do with ease."

Sam answered him this time. "I would guess that power is an issue. I expect that there's a limit to how much energy he can channel. Past that, there's the issue that he seems to need to know how to do something, the theory behind it."

"And you want to teach him more?"

"Well, yes."

Teal'c spoke up. "I do believe that he has earned our trust."

"To what end though?" asked the General. "The boy is still nine years old, and it doesn't seem that he'd be able to teach our soldiers to use his abilities."

"Harry may be too young to be an active part of our program, but we can still learn from him, sir, if only to learn more about the nature of our universe. And maybe a soldier couldn't do what he can, but that doesn't mean that we can't try to replicate what he does technologically. Now, he's shown an interest in working with us when he can. I think we should let him."

General Hammond nodded. "The boy's future isn't set yet, but we'll take what you've said into consideration."  
!!!!!

Hours later, Harry awoke in the infirmary. He may or may not have been taking a nap, depending on whom you asked. He felt much better now, anyway. He sat up and saw Sarah sitting on the bed next to him. She was talking to Daniel, who was standing opposite her.

"Hey," he said.

They looked over at him. "Harry," Daniel said, "how are you?"

"I'm okay." He looked around. "Where's Jack?"

"He's talking to General Hammond right now. They're using a side room."

"Oh." The colonel had still been barely conscious when Harry had gone to sleep. Harry really wanted to talk to the man.

Sarah turned to him, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed.

"Harry," she said, "I wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. I can't tell you how it feels- well, I suppose you know exactly how it feels: to be free. I really can't thank you enough."

Harry blushed. "Er, that's okay. I just did what I had to do."

She shook her head. "What you did went beyond anything you had to." There was a silence, she seemed unsure of what else to say. "Oh. You can't have had anything to eat since you first fell unconscious. You must be starving." She got off the bed. "One of the nurses left a tray for you." She picked up a tray, bringing it to him. "Here, it's roast beef, and there's a fruit cup."

"Oh, thanks." Harry wasn't terribly comfortable being catered to, but he supposed that it was part of being in the infirmary. He started eating, and realized that he really was quite hungry.

"Harry," said Daniel, "for my part, I wanted to thank you too, for what you did for Jack. He'd probably be gone right now, if not for you."

Harry really didn't know what to say to people who kept on thanking him.

"Yeah." He had to admit, it sort of felt good.

At that moment, the door to the side room opened, and out came the General, followed by Jack, saving Harry from having to say anything more.

"Hey, kiddo," said Jack, who still looked a little under the weather, "I hear you saved my keiter back there."

Harry smiled; "I just had the idea…" he trailed off.

"Well, a really good idea, it seems."

"Son," the General addressed him, "on the behalf of the US Air Force, I would like to thank you for all of your efforts in this mission. You have not only saved the life of one of my officers, but you have also enabled the safe return of a US citizen, while simultaneously preventing Osiris from giving valuable information to the System Lords. You have rendered your country a great service."

Really this was getting to be a bit much; Harry could only stare at the general with wide eyes for a moment.

"Thanks."

The man smiled at him. "Have a good day, son. I wish you the best of luck." With that, the man excused himself and left the room.

Harry looked at the other three in the room. "So, no one really needs to do that again, right?"

Jack smiled. "No guarantees."

"Oh."

"Hey," Jack said to Daniel and Sarah, "do you guys think I could talk to Harry here for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," said Daniel. He and Sarah made their way to the other side of the room.

"So Harry," said Jack, "it's the end of the mission."

"Oh," said Harry, "you don't have to ask if-"

"I'm sure," said Jack, and before Harry could interrupt, he said, "and I was sure before you saved me. Believe me Harry, my life has been saved to many times for me to still be keeping a tally. Now you don't have to say yes, you do have options. I have a dangerous job, and I work odd hours-"

"Yes." Harry had never been more sure of anything.

Jack smiled, "All right."

Harry grinned. "Cool. Er, so how does this work then?"

"Well, it's sort of complicated. First off, the Dursleys have signed you over to the US government; they may have gotten the impression that it would save them from a criminal investigation." The way he said it, it was clear that the impression was intentional, and that the Dursleys would not be escaping a criminal investigation. "Due to your circumstances, the issue of your custody was handed over to the Air Force. The policy in such a case is for a General, in this case General Hammond, to assign your custody, pending the authorization of a trained officer. There's an officer who's going to want to talk to you, and then it's all over."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"So, when do we… go?"

"Probably tomorrow. Janet's not going to let me out of here for hours yet, and she also has a few specialists who want to look at your arm. Anyway, tonight you have a guest room with your name on it."

"So, tomorrow…"

"Tomorrow we go home."

!!!!!

Really, those specialists that Jack had told him about had been quite annoying. Harry felt more like an interesting specimen under their gaze than a patient. Only one of them was a medical doctor, the others were experts in biology and technology. They had examined the hand device from every possible angle, and scanned it with various machines (actually, the X-ray looked rather cool). Harry was plied with questions throughout the ordeal. He was only glad that Janet was there to keep the scientists from being too zealous in their inquiry. In the end, they determined that they could not detect any ill effects from the device, and that they could not recommend removing it for fear of nerve damage.

Harry was escorted to the guest room that he would be sleeping in that night. Harry relished the fact that he was being given a bed for the first time in his life (he'd sort of stolen the bed on Osiris' ship). He spent an hour watching TV, which was quite different from what he had occasionally seen in Britain, before he was taken to get dinner (Mac and Cheese and a Jello cup).

Instead of being taken to his room after dinner, he was told that he was to meet a Captain Mallard, who Harry figured was the one who would be talking to him about living with Jack. He met the woman in a small interview room, where they sat down across from each other.

"Now Harry, do you know why you're here?"

"You're supposed to say whether I can live with Jack or not, so you want to talk to me."

She nodded. "That's right. I've worked with the Stargate program before when placing orphaned refugees. Now I only have a few questions for you, are you okay doing this now?"

"Now's good," he said.

"All right. Now first of all, I need to know that you understand what has been proposed. You said that you would be living with Colonel O'Neill. Do you understand that this would be permanent, that he would be adopting you? He would be your guardian until you reach the age of eighteen."

Harry nodded. "I want that."

She took note of his answer. "Do you understand your other options?"

"Well, I can't go back to the Dursleys; not that I'd want to. I could go into foster homes, either here or in England. But we can't tell everyone I live with about all this, and I wouldn't want to live with that secret. Maybe I'd get adopted by someone, but who adopts someone they have to sign a confidentiality agreement for? But with Jack, he knows everything about me, and I like him, and I can be a part of this still. I want to help." He needed to help.

"You've been thinking a lot about this."

"I wasn't at first, I didn't- but the more time I spent with Jack and his friends, the more I started thinking about it. Doctor Jackson was a foster kid, and I talked to him about it." Harry hadn't been able to see a future for himself for a while.

She nodded, still taking note of what he was saying. "Do you understand the nature of the Colonel's work?"

"Um, well he goes through the Stargate. He's trying to make Earth safe from the goa'uld, and everyone else out there."

"Harry, the Colonel's regular schedule, includes a three day, two night, off-world mission, Monday through Wednesday. The next two days are regular work hours, either on or off world, and he has weekends off. As a single man, a schedule like this is not typically conducive to raising a child. Now, arrangements can easily be made to see to it that you are cared for while he is away, but that wouldn't be the same as him being there every day.

Harry shrugged. "He'll still see me Monday morning, and Wednesday evening. That's two days, three mornings and three nights more than I ever had, more than I ever dreamed of. And like you said, when he's not there, I still won't be alone."

"The Colonel also has a very chaotic and dangerous job. Take this last mission for example: he was gone for ten days; he was supposed to be gone for fourteen. He also nearly died. You would be living with this for eight and a half years."

Harry just shook his head, getting heated. "You don't understand. You've helped kids who'd had parents. They needed a lot to take the place of what they'd had, because they'd had a lot. But I never had someone who cared what grades I got, or took care of me when I was sick, or just talked to me.

"And yeah, he could die. Yeah, he has a dangerous job. But we're all living on borrowed time as long as the goa'uld are out there, and it doesn't change the fact that no one knows what the future's going to be. We could both die in some freak accident right now, or driving away from this base. I'm not going to give this up just because it could be taken away."

She studied him for a moment before she nodded. "Very well. That's all that I wanted to know. I will have to think about this, I should have an answer for you in the morning." She stood.

"Are you really going to think about it?"

"I will. I admit, that I would not normally place a child with a person who has the Colonel's lifestyle. However, your circumstances call for a non-conventional solution. I have much to think about, and you should get some rest. Whatever happens tomorrow, you'll probably be busy."

"Okay."

"Good night, Harry."

"Good night."  
!!!!!

At five o'clock that morning, Sam was on her way to Harry's room. The ship was due to arrive at Earth, from Oberdad, in half an hour, and Harry needed to direct it to go hide behind the moon for the moment. She was intercepted on her way there though by an airman, who delivered orders for her to go to the briefing room.

Arriving at the room that looked over the gateroom, she saw the unwelcome sight of Colonel Simmons standing next to a slightly disgruntled General Hammond.

"Good morning, sirs."

The General nodded, "Major."

"I take it, you wanted to see me?"

He nodded. "The Colonel here has come with a suggestion made by the NID, and I have been ordered by my superiors to take it into consideration."

"What suggestion?"

The Colonel spoke up. "I came here to have you direct Mr. Potter to land the goa'uld ship at Area 51 for safe keeping."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "You want to steal his ship."

The man scoffed. "I'd hardly call it stealing."

"If we didn't have him land his ship first, that's exactly what the Stargate Ethics Code would call it. We officially met him off-world, classifying him as an off-world agent. He acquired his ship through warfare against the goa'uld, so we recognize it as his property. The only way you can legally take it is if you get him to land it on US territory. Civilians are not allowed to keep weaponized war machines in the US, so you would have an excuse to confiscate it. You want me to trick an ally of this program, in order to acquire his technology."

"I hardly need to remind you of this program's primary objective. That ship may provide an important missing link between our technology, and modern goa'uld technology. It is worth upsetting a little boy to acquire this ship."

"On the contrary sir, you have it backwards. That ship uses technology based on the same things that we have been unable to replicate, it isn't the missing link you hope it is. Harry, on the other hand, is. He has an intimate understanding of every system of that ship, and the only barrier between that understanding and us is his need to learn our scientific jargon. And let's not forget that we have an opportunity to examine his never before seen abilities. We need his cooperation, and we're not going to get it if we trick him and steal from him."

"He's just a boy, Major, and he'll do what we tell him to."

"He is just a boy, who we can't compel to do anything. And like the nine year old that he is, he cares about fairness and niceness. Now he wants to help us already, we'll only hurt our cause if we alienate him."

General Hammond nodded. "Very well, Major, thank you for you input. Colonel, I have considered your proposal, and I have to side with Major Carter on this issue. Harry Potter will of course be forbidden from using his ship in Earth space, and if he does so, he will face consequences. However, it is not in our interest to take it from him at this time."

"I believe you're making a mistake General."

"And I'm sure that will go in your report to your superiors. Now, you must be in a hurry to get back, so I won't keep you any longer. Good day Colonel."

The man looked upset, but he just nodded to them. "General. Major." The man left.

"Thank you, sir," said Sam. "I would have hated to follow orders like that."

The General nodded. "You had a convincing argument, Major. On the other hand, I'm still not comfortable with a boy having control over a weaponized space ship."

"We'd have a hard time getting it away from him. Besides, he hasn't shown himself to be the kind to use it. At the worst sir, I'd only worry about him trying to run away."

"That would be bad enough."

"Anyway, sir, I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"Very well. Now, the boy we've been discussing needs to be awoken soon, so that no stargazer happens to see what we don't want them to see."

"Of course, sir. I'll go do that now."

She made her way down to Harry's room, glad that she didn't work for the NID.  
!!!!!

The second time Harry awoke that morning it was ten in the morning. He reflected that he had been a tad grumpy when Sam had woken him earlier. It seemed that he slept better on Earth, rather than on his spaceship.

He got out of bed and dressed, before leaving and asking the SF outside his door to escort him to the mess hall. He found Jack there, stooped over a bowl of Cheerios. Harry quickly got himself some food before joining the man at his table.

"Hey, Jack."

"Hey, kid, how'd you sleep?

"Well, actually. Except for when Sam woke me up, I mean."

"You're lucky then, it's usually a pain going between planets. It's worse than jetlag."

"So, um. Do you know when Captain Mallard is going to tell us her decision?"

"I got word she wanted to see us at eleven. You nervous?"

Harry nodded. "She doesn't like you."

Jack snorted.

"I mean," Harry said, a little flustered, "she doesn't think I should live with you."

"Yeah, well, I'm not exactly ideal. But then, you're not in an ideal situation.

Harry shook his head. "But you're perfect," he said. Jack gave him a look. "Really. I don't need a lot, I can handle having a baby-sitter a couple of times a week."

"I hope you're right."

"So, what do you think she'll say?"

The man sighed. "I don't know, Harry. She's a smart woman, she might think of an option we haven't thought of."

"Oh."

"Hey, chin up. Whatever she decides, it'll be what's best for you."

Harry was pushing the food around his plate. "I suppose," he said, unconvincingly.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, before Harry had a thought.

"Hey," he said.

"Yeah?"

"I'm supposed to go to school, right?"

"That's the idea."

"So what are we going to say about this?" He held up his right arm, the jeweled hand device standing out plainly.

"I don't know, we'll make something up, I guess."

"Like what?"

"Maybe, we'll say that your former guardians were archeologists, and that's an artifact that became fused with your arm during some accidental fire. Fortunately, an experimental skin graft saved your arm, but the artifact can't be removed for fear of nerve damage."

Harry snickered. "That doesn't make any sense."

"So we'll make something else up. Your parents were anthropologists studying a remote South American tribe, who… Okay, that makes even less sense. How about this, we need to work a cult in somehow."

"A cult?"

"Yeah, cults are in now. A good story should involve a cult. Lets see, you've got a distinctive scar on your forehead, so we can say that the Son's of Thor abducted you, thinking you were a child of prophecy. That ornament was surgically attached to the bones in your arm."

"You're just trying to make me laugh."

"Kid, I'm not trying anything. You, mister, are definitely laughing."

Harry did his best to stop giggling, and look seriously up at Jack, but he couldn't quite pull it off.

"Oh. You're guardians were chemists, and there was an accident with a bottle of acid."

"Where does the large golden bracelet come in?"

"Well obviously, you have strange personal tastes in apparel."

"No. I was raised by cat-burglars, and this is an artifact that I helped steal from a museum."

"How'd it get stuck on your arm then?"

"They're cat-burglar chemists."

"All right then. We'll settle on cat-burglar chemists. You'll be the coolest kid in your class."

"It still doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah, there are bound to be a few smart people at your school."

"I could just wear a glove and long sleeves."

"Every day of school?"

"I have horrible burns from an accidental fire, an Amazonian ritual, cult shenanigans, or acid."

"I vote for the Sons of Thor."

"The god of lightning it is then," said Harry.

"I've met him actually."

Harry gave him a look.

"Really. He's a little grey guy, doesn't wear any clothes. Saved my life a couple times. We returned the favor of course, but hey, who's counting?"

"You mean Thor the Asgard?"

"You've heard of them?"

"Yeah, the goa'uld knew the Asgard existed when Isis and Osiris were captured, but they'd never even seen what they looked like. Now wait, little, naked, and grey, like 'I was abducted from my bed,' Greys?"

"Yeah, we really need to ask them about that sometime."

Harry snorted.

"Talking about the Asgard," said Jack, "you really need to see the way they beam people up. There's no messing around with rings, they just pluck you up from wherever you're standing, even if you're a mile under ground."

Harry's eyes lit up. "I do need to see that. Really, without line of sight, or existing terminals, I'm limited to where I can transport to, especially in this mountain."

Jack scoffed. "You poor boy, only able to transport with line of sight."

"Sorry," said Harry guiltily, looking down at his eggs. 'Stupid,' he thought, 'I must sound like a brat, going on like that.'

"Harry, I was joking."

He looked up, realizing that the man didn't look put off.

"Really, it's okay, no need to look so glum. You're allowed to want to more than you have. Heck, when my parents got me my first car, I wished it was a Mustang."

"Really?" He never wanted to come off as ungrateful.

"Yeah. And before we talk about anything else, Harry, I want you to remember that you are allowed to act like a kid, no matter where you end up. You're not expected to be perfect, or a little grown up. This is the generally accepted time when you get to screw-up."

"I'm allowed to mess-up?"

"Well," he hedged, "you're expected to. Actions have consequences, and all that, but it's not like it's the end of the world if you say the wrong thing, or break a rule."

Harry was silent for a minute. "I don't think I can be a kid," he finally said, quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I know that other kids are supposed to- that kids get to mess up, and not get in too much trouble. I don't mean I think everyone will treat me different. It's just, I don't feel like a kid anymore. How can I be a kid when I've- when Isis has done all those things with me, and I know a hundred different ways to kill a guy with my bare hands. Maybe, I'm not really what you wanted." He finished miserably.

Jack reached across the table and put a hand on his shoulder. "Harry, I know that everything's different for you right now, and I get why you don't really feel like you're a kid anymore. There are very few children that you'll meet who've been through anything remotely like what you've been through. But I've seen you be just a kid, and even though it's not always, it's still a part of you."

"I just don't know how to be normal anymore."

"Harry, I haven't dealt with normal in, well, ever. I go to other worlds on a regular basis, for crying out loud. You don't have to be anything but yourself."

Harry gave a small smile.

"Well," said Jack, "I think we're both done. Come on, I've got a PlayStation in my quarters. What's say we go shoot at something before we go see the Captain?"

"Okay."  
!!!!!

Thirty minutes later, Harry had killed various insectoid aliens, and he and Jack were now sitting across from the Captain. Jack seemed impassive, while Harry was drumming his fingers on the metal of his hand device. The Captain cleared her voice.

"Well, you both know why we're here. Yesterday and this morning, I looked into various options that you might have, Harry. However, they all have their detractions, and you already have your mind set. On the other hand though, there are numerous detractions to a situation in which the Colonel is your sole guardian. That is why I have decided to have a three-month trial period, in which you would live with the Colonel. After the three months, we would be able to decide if this will work out, and move from there.

"Is this situation amenable to the both of you?"

"I guess, if it's the best we got," said Jack.

Harry nodded. Really, it was better than he had hoped.

"Very well then, Colonel, if you will sign these forms, you will be granted probationary guardianship of the minor Harry Potter."

Harry also had to sign a couple of forms. The first was a non-disclosure agreement. Apparently, all cooperation from the Air Force was contingent on his signing it. The other form basically signified that he understood that he really wasn't allowed to do anything with the ship. He signed both of them.

Harry didn't know why Jack couldn't just sign in one place for all of the papers, but it ended up taking five minutes for the man to put his signature on all of the forms. Harry felt a sense of contentment sink into him when the man placed the last signature on the last page. Jack turned to him.

"How about we get out of here?"

"Okay." Harry turned to the Captain. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, I don't believe that either of you have seen sunlight in ten days, so go get some fresh air. Colorado is quite nice this time of year."

They said their goodbyes and left.

"So where's the rest of your team?" asked Harry.

"They're all off-base, taking the day off."

"Oh. So, you all live off base, right?"

"Well, yeah. Except Teal'c, I mean. But yeah, we," he motioned between himself and Harry, "definitely live off base. I have a room here, and you'll probably get one too, but we'll be living a good ten minutes away from base."

"Oh, good."

"So wait, you would have been willing to live underground?"

Harry shrugged. "It's better than living on a ship."

"We definitely need to get you out of here." They stepped into an elevator, and Jack pushed the button for the ground floor. "Oh, I nearly forgot," he said, and pulled a long black glove out of his pocket. "This is for you, for your arm."

"Oh yeah," said Harry. "I almost forgot about that." He accepted the glove and put it over the hand device on his arm. For the time being, at least, he would be covering his arm whenever he went into public.

On the surface, there was a giant heavy blast door that Harry thought to be quite impressive. There were a lot of cars parked inside of the mountain, and Jack led him to a large black truck that would have been hard for him to scramble into six months ago.

They left the base, going through two checkpoints, and Harry found that he had indeed missed the sun. Colorado was quite unlike Surrey though; it was winter now, and there was a little snow on the trees, which seemed to be everywhere. The mountain complex was somewhat removed from the rest of society, so they drove through the country for a little while.

"So, where are we going?" asked Harry, who was enjoying riding up front for the first time in his life.

"Well, I figured we should get some shopping done."

"What for?"

"Well clothes for one. Isis left you with a rather limited wardrobe. I mean, maybe you like extravagant hooded robes, but a little variety would be nice."

"He did go though some trouble making them fit me."

"I'd wondered about that."

"So how am I going to pay for everything?"

"What?"

"All the clothes and stuff. I don't really have any money."

"Yeah. We're just going to nix this idea of you paying for anything. That's my job now."

"But all that's going to cost a lot."

"Exactly the reason why the Air Force Colonel with few fixed expenses is going to pay for it."

Harry wasn't easy with the concept of Jack paying for everything, but he had to admit that he had no way of paying for anything himself. They went to a mall, and their first stop was indeed the children's department of one of the department stores. For most of his life, Harry had made do with only a few mismatched outfits, but Jack was insistent on his having lots of everything, from socks, to shirts, to winter jumpers, which the man insisted on calling sweaters. The only thing that Harry refused was pajamas; he'd never had them before, and he didn't need them now.

Everything they bought fit, along with the pair of shoes he wound up getting. Jack promised that they'd visit a toy store the next day; now that was just weird.

They had lunch in the food court, and Jack suggested they go see a movie. They wound up seeing Titan AE. Jack speculated later, that maybe it hadn't been a good idea to see a movie in which aliens destroy the Earth, though Harry had pointed out scientific inaccuracies throughout the movie.

After the movie, Jack declared that it was time to go home. It was with a slight sense of trepidation that the two drove out once again into the country. Jack kept his home removed from much of society, as he liked it. As they approached the house, Harry saw four cars in front. He looked at Jack questioningly.

"I might have invited a few people over for a welcome party."

"A welcome party?"

"Yeah. Welcome to my home. It's yours too now."

Harry blushed. "Thanks. So, who's in there?"

"Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, Doctor Frasier, maybe her daughter Cassandra, and General Hammond. Sarah all ready had to leave though."

'That's more than a few,' Harry thought. They got out and walked to the front door. "So they all know that the Captain said yes?"

"I sent them a text while we were checking out of the base. Come on, lets' go see everyone."

The walked through the door, and indeed, everyone was there; including a girl Harry supposed was Cassandra. The group came forward, saying congratulations and the like. Though uncomfortable under the attention, Harry had to smile at the well wishes.

"So Harry," said Jack, "I'm afraid I have a bit of a surprise for you."

"You mean aside from a surprise party?"

Jack shook his head. "If this had been a surprise party, there'd have been hiding, and the waving of arms. No, this is cooler than a party."

"Come on, Harry, we'll show you," said Sam.

She led him down a hallway and through a door. Harry stared in amazement at what was inside. It was a bedroom, everything was new, and clearly for him.

"You've gotta love Ikea," said Jack.

"But how?"

"They did it," Jack gestured to the rest of SG-1, "I'd asked them for the favor last night. How do you like it?"

Harry walked into the room, looking around. He sat down on the bed, feeling the springy mattress. He swallowed. "Thank you." His eyes fell on the bookshelf. "You already got me books?"

Daniel smirked. "Sam insisted on starting your education in the sciences."

Everyone looked at her. She shrugged. "I just thought you might like some reading material, I got you some of the basics from the local community college."

Harry walked over to the books, and saw that they were all large texts.

"Advanced Astrophysics?"

She cleared her throat, "Basics for you. There's also a scientific dictionary, for all of the unfamiliar words."

Jack spoke up, "so you're not going to be the fun aunt?"

"Oh, there's also this book here," she picked one off the shelf, "200 of the Coolest, Nerdiest, Things to Do With Your Home Appliances. I figured it could be an introduction to Earth's technology."

"Thanks Sam," said Harry, flipping through the book. Various things were already piquing his interest.

"Oh no," said Jack, "this is just your revenge for having that guy build a Stargate in your basement."

Harry looked up from the book, intrigued. "Hm?"

"It's a long story," said Sam, looking a little embarrassed.

"And an interesting one," added Jack.

"Anyway," said Harry, "thanks for everything, all of you." He'd been overwhelmed by the clothes shopping earlier, now he was taking everything in stride.

"It was our pleasure," Teal'c spoke up, "and it was the least we could do for the aid that you have given us."

Harry smiled. The group spent a few more minutes looking around the still spartan room (Harry had yet to make that distinction). They moved back into the living room, for chips, drinks, and music. The General left soon after, citing a need to get home. The adults all wound up talking together, which left Harry to socialize with the older Cassandra.

"So, you're from another…" said Harry.

"World? Yeah. And you used to be a…" said Cassandra

"Yeah."

"I can feel it, like with Sam."

Harry looked at her inquisitively. "How? They never mentioned you having been a host before."

"Oh, I wasn't. Long story short, I have naquedah in my blood."

Harry nodded. "I thought I'd felt something. That could come in handy, I guess."

She shrugged. "I suppose, hopefully not though. I just want everything to be normal. I mean, as normal as things can get." She checked her watch, and Harry realized that she had been checking it repeatedly.

"Do you need to be somewhere?" Harry asked.

She scowled. "I wanted to see my boy friend tonight, but we might be here past my curfew."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

She waved a hand at him. "It's not your fault."

"So, does he know about you?"

She shook her head. "They told me that unless the program becomes public, I can't tell anyone, even if I get married."

"It's an excuse to be normal."

"Guilt free." She smiled. "You're right, I stopped caring about it a long time ago. It's nice to blend in."

"I wish I could."

"It's not that hard really. You just watch what everyone else is doing."

"I don't think it'll be that easy for me."

"Why not?"

Harry held up his hand; he had taken off the glove. "I'm not really sure what we'll do about this, it's stuck on."

"They can't get it off?"

He shrugged. "I don't even want them to. But still, it complicates things."

"Crazy. Well, good luck with that."

!!!!!

By the time the night was over three pizzas had been consumed, a game of Pictionary had been played, and the words "Harry, don't levitate beverages," had passed through Jack's lips. Hours later, everyone had left, and it was time for bed. They'd brushed their teeth, and a boxer clad Harry was already in bed.

Jack stood over him. "So what do you think about the room?"

"I like it," Harry said contentedly.

The man shook his head, "I mean what do you want to do with it?"

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "What's there to do?"

"You know: posters, paint, toys. Sam insists that you'll need a computer of your own."

"I don't need all that." Harry had thought that all of the spending was over. After years of having the bare minimum provided for him, the day's shopping spree had left him feeling almost giddy, and self-conscious at the same time. "What if this doesn't work out? You'd have spent all of that money for-"

"It wouldn't be for nothing."

Harry only smiled at him, and then yawned.

"Goodnight, Harry."

"G'night, Jack."

Jack turned out the light and walked out the door. Harry rolled over, content. The dream that he had nearly given up on had come true; he had found a home.


	5. 04 Settling In

Settling In

**Harry Potter Missing!**

In a shocking announcement today, Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, revealed that not only has Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, seemingly been abducted by a muggle woman, but that his location cannot be determined.

Fifteen days ago, whilst visiting a muggle airport, Harry Potter was abducted by an American muggle fugitive, as she fled from United States Air Force officials. By the time wizarding officials were notified though, there was nothing to be done.

After the defeat of the dark wizard, You-Know-Who, various complex charms were placed on the boy by Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore to ensure his safety. Aside from one, which would alert the Chief Warlock should the boy be near death, there were charms that tracked and recorded his movements. When these charms were consulted, they showed that the boy was flying quickly away from the Earth at impossible speeds. Within seconds, the wards all snapped.

Further inquiry showed that young Mr. Potter had been taken to an ancient tomb in Egypt. It has been hypothesized by some that spells cast by ancient warlocks on the tomb caused the monitoring charms to malfunction, and eventually break. Others though, have suggested that muggles have little to do with the boy's disappearance, and that this could only have been achieved by dark wizards.

However this has happened, it can only be hoped that the boy who saved us all is still alive, and can still be saved himself. Currently there is a massive manhunt for him, and even the muggle authorities are taking part. If you have any information that can lead to the recovery of Harry Potter, do not hesitate to contact the Ministry of Magic Auror Department.

**Mass Murderer Sirius Black Escaped**

Only five days after the announcement of the disappearance of the boy who lived, twenty days after he was taken, mass murderer Sirius Black has escaped from the impenetrable walls of Azkaban Prison.

It is unknown how exactly the former Death Eater, and right hand man of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, escaped the prison, but it is believed that it could only have been done with dark magic. Whether or not Black had an outside accomplice is unknown.

So closely following the abduction of Harry Potter, it is hard to believe that these two events are not related. It has been speculated that Black may have somehow plotted the abduction from within his prison cell before making his own escape. However, no evidence has surfaced that Black, or any of his fellow prisoners, could have communicated with the outside world.

Again, there is a massive manhunt for the man, and even muggles have been included. As you will recall, Black killed thirteen muggles in broad daylight before he was captured. While it is not expected that the muggle community will be able to help in the capture of Black, the need for them to be able to protect themselves has been cited.

A three thousand Galleon reward has been offered for any information leading to the capture of this criminal. Tips can be given to the Ministry of Magic, Auror Department

**Boy Who Lived Relatives Under Investigation for Child Abuse**

While there has been no new information about the whereabouts of Harry Potter, a shocking piece of information has come to light. As part of the muggle US investigation, it has been alleged that Harry Potter was abused by his relatives. At this point, all that is known is that the Dursleys have been accused of forcing their nephew to sleep in a cupboard under their stairs these past eight years.

For those uninformed, this constitutes abuse in both the magical and the muggle worlds. Whether the allegations are true, or whether this was the extent of the abuse is unknown.

Due to these allegations, it is now unknown what will be done with young Potter when, or if, he is found. There have always been critics to his placement in the muggle world, and in the past there have been many families that have offered to take him in. Prominent among them are the Diggory and Malfoy families, and even the Longbottoms, before their poor fate.

The public is urged to take no reprisals on the muggle world. Muggle baiting is a crime, and the guilty parties in this matter are under investigation. The Dursleys' alleged actions need not reflect on others in their community, urges Ministry of Magic official, Nigel Tibbel, head of the Muggle Relations Department.

**Sirius Black Spotted at Privet Drive**

At five p.m. local time last night, Sirius Black infiltrated the home of Vernon and Petunia Dursley, the now infamous relatives of Harry Potter. As our readers will recall, the Dursleys were charged with child abuse, but took a plea bargain due to a lack of substantial evidence. They were forced to pay 5000 pounds as part of their agreement, but retained their freedom.

It has previously been speculated that Sirius Black had a hand in Harry Potter's disappearance. However, Black went to Privet Drive and demanded information as to the whereabouts of the Boy Who Lived. Mysteriously, Black was seemingly enraged by the treatment of the boy at the hands of the muggles, and cast several bludgeoning hexes at Vernon Dursley with a stolen wand.

Black, it has just been revealed, was in fact Harry Potter's godfather. Though he was responsible for betraying the Potter Family to You-Know-Who, it has been speculated by some that the man is seeking to protect the boy.

Maria Magnus, a Mind Healer at St. Mungo's hospital had this to say about Black's condition:

"It is well known that Dementors [the guards of Azkaban prison] eventually cause varying forms of madness in their victims. It may be that Black does not remember his treachery, or has become repentant on the matter. Regardless of his intentions though, he is still a danger to everyone around him."

Still, there are many questions left unanswered. For instance, why would such a dark wizard use only moderate hexes on a muggle who had so enraged him? What are the true reasons for his search for Harry Potter? How did he escape from Azkaban Prison? More importantly though, what is he going to do next?

!!!!!

The first morning that Harry awoke in Jack's home, there was a moment where he kept his eyes closed and hoped that the previous day hadn't been a dream. He opened his eyes and grinned, before getting out of bed and getting dressed. He walked to the door, but stopped before leaving the room.

Was he allowed to leave? Should he be making breakfast? Should he wait for Jack to wake up? He realized that he had no idea of what was expected of him. He dithered in front of the door, hesitant to move one way or another. If Jack wasn't up, maybe he'd want to wake up to breakfast. But what sort of breakfast? Harry thought for a moment about what Jack might like, but then he realized that perhaps he wasn't expected to do anything. Dudley, after all, had never been expected to do anything. Still, Dudley probably wasn't exactly the best example.

Really, he was making too much out of this. Jack wouldn't restrict him to his room, so it would be safe to leave. As to breakfast, Harry could just wait to see what was expected. He left the room, made a stop in the bathroom, and made his way to the living room, still apprehensive about exploring the house alone.

"Hey, Harry," said a voice behind him.

Harry jumped two feet into the air, before recognizing the voice as Jack's.

"Jack!"

"Jumpy much?"

"Sorry, I didn't know you were up."

"You can't spend more than twenty five years in the military, and not be an early riser. So, you plan on joining track and field?"

Harry looked at him questioningly. "What?"

"I mean, you jumped…" he held up his hand above his head. Harry gave him a look. "Seriously though, you could try out for sports in a couple years.

Harry shrugged. "It wouldn't really be fair, would it?" he said somewhat dejectedly."

"Sports isn't about fair, it's about who's better. It's not like you did anything illicit."

Harry shrugged again.

"Anyway," said Jack, "you still have time to think on it."

Harry nodded. "So, what do we do for breakfast?"

"Well, I've got fruit loops." He pauses. "I suppose that that's about it for breakfast. Oh! We could go to Denny's."

"Denny's?"

"It's a restaurant. They'll give us a real breakfast. Come on, we'll head out now."

"Okay," said Harry, going to the door to put on his shoes. "Why don't you have any real breakfast food?" There was a time when he would have done anything for just a bowl of Fruit Loops.

"Most of the stuff in the fridge is past its date. That's what happens when you leave for a couple weeks. Anyway, we'll stock up later." They walked out the door and over to the truck.

"More shopping?" They really had done a lot the day before.

"Oh, we have only just begun to shop." He made a face. "Well we just stepped into a bad teen movie." Harry had trouble understanding Jack sometimes.

They drove into town, Harry still enjoying the scenery outside. He turned to Jack.

"So. What will we do most mornings? I mean, should I make breakfast?"

Jack glanced at him. "You like cooking, then?"

"Um, it's all right, I guess."

"Cooking was one of your chores?"

Harry's workload had been the subject of conversations before. He nodded. "I cooked breakfast a lot, and sometimes my Aunt would have me help with dinner. But I didn't mind though." Harry would pull his own weight; he wouldn't be lazy.

"Well, we'll play it by ear, I guess. Maybe we'll take turns, or see who wakes up first. Really though, you don't have to worry about chores much. We'll work everything out."

"Okay," said Harry. He'd try not to worry. "So, what about going to the SGC."

"First of all, Harry, you need to know how to say 'no' to a scientist."

"What?"

"I'm serious. Scientists live off science, so you're like an all you can eat buffet to them. You need to be able to say, 'that's enough for today, I'm going to play some video games right now.' Remember, you're the one doing them a favor."

"But I'm not, I'm trying to keep everything from being blown up by the goa'uld."

Jack sighed. "I know, and I wish you didn't have to. But still, you've got to have your own life. You're nine, so you still get to be a little selfish. It's good for you. You don't want to be the guy who grew up in a lab, spending all his free time with adults and being serious."

That did sound sort of pathetic. "So how will it work out then?"

"Well, it seems like you'll be spending two or three nights at the SGC each week. Some of that time can be spent with the scientists. Maybe we'll squeeze in more time if you want. You can also do work remotely."

"So that's why Sam wants me to have a computer."

"Oh, I think that's just general principle for her." They'd pulled into town now, and Harry saw the big yellow Denny's sign up ahead. "Now remember, Harry, this is all going to work itself out. We'll see what happens, work out the kinks, and before you know it, it'll all be routine."

"We'll achieve homeostasis?"

Jack looked at him askance as he pulled into a parking space. "Where'd you learn that word?"

Harry had to think about it for a second. "Isis knew it from Steven. I know quite a bit from Steven, actually. I could drive the car, even."

"Then how come you weren't having deep conversations with Daniel?"

Harry shrugged. "Isis wasn't interested in much past what had happened to the goa'uld, and where he could find a Stargate. Past that, he just wanted to know how to pass himself off as Steven. I don't know everything Steven knows."

"That's probably a good thing."

Harry nodded earnestly. He rather had enough information swimming around in his head as it was.

!!!!!

For breakfast, Jack insisted that Harry get as big of a meal as he wanted. His only restriction was no fizzy drinks, and no coffee. How Jack could stomach the bitter drink, Harry didn't know, but he certainly didn't need to be told not to drink any. Harry still felt odd about Jack paying for everything, and letting him have whatever he wanted, and it was almost thrilling to order a large breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon; he even had chocolate milk.

After breakfast, they did indeed go shopping, and stocked the refrigerator and pantry. They weren't done after that though, Harry needed a computer, and Jack still wanted him to get more personal effects for his room. Jack had been surprised when Harry didn't know what he wanted in a computer. Harry didn't know much of anything about computers on Earth. Oh, he knew the basics, and could guess much of the rest, but once again, not knowing anything about the jargon got in the way. Jack wound up calling Sam to find out what they needed.

As time wore on, Harry found that the different parts of his life really were fitting into place. Who did what around the house, how they interacted, when he went to bed. It wasn't automatic, but it wasn't horribly awkward figuring everything out. Harry's concern about breakfast was a non-issue, really; some mornings, Harry would wake early enough to surprise Jack with a large breakfast, but most of the time, Jack kept things simple.

As to Harry's power, Jack really didn't mind Harry using them. Harry still had to practice after all. Of course, Harry couldn't do that just anywhere, his abilities were top secret, after all. Harry took to closing the blinds whenever he practiced. They couldn't be used outside, lest some passer by see. Eventually, Harry had been told, he would be able to have larger and safer areas to practice in. They were still settling in though, so that would have to wait. He amused himself by mentally commanding objects to come to him while he was on the couch, though Jack told him that he'd become a couch potato if he kept it up. Harry was instantly reminded of his cousin Dudley, which put an end to that short-lived habit.

Harry was still having nightmares some nights, though he often didn't remember them. Harry didn't know yet if that was a good thing or not. Oh, he certainly didn't want to remember any of his nightmares, but he wondered if maybe they had something important to tell him. Dreams weren't just random images, they held meaning. When Jack had discovered the nightmares, he told Harry that he could wake him up whenever he wanted. Harry still hadn't taken him up on the offer. Still, the dreams were interfering with his sleep, and he found that he wasn't getting enough.

Jack had been kept up to date on the goings on at the SGC. The week had been relatively quiet, barring an incident with SG-3. Hiding from the goa'uld, an alien being had apparently made the team believe that not only was he human, but that he was a member of their team. Fortunately, the team had all made it back in one piece.

After a lazy week, with daily trips to local hot spots and continued efforts to expand Harry's exposure to classic movies, Jack announced that it was time for Harry to be enrolled in school (prompting a trip to Staples for school supplies). Harry was to go to Broadmoore Elementary, where Cassandra had gone when she was younger. Harry was worried though, about getting along with the other boys. It wasn't just the fact that he had a piece of ornate jewelry welded onto his arm. Back in Surrey, he'd been an outcast, the boy everyone made fun of. Sure it was mostly Dudley's fault, but he wondered if he might just be bad at making friends.

There was also the concern that he was just too smart for school. He had been skipped ahead to the sixth grade, but the rest of his class would still be learning that matter was made up of atoms. They would work out how to take the square root of a number. There wasn't a man on Earth though, who knew what Harry knew. His only consolation would be learning English, History, and Art. Maybe he could take up an instrument.

For all of his concerns though, Harry was still a little excited to be going to school. He still hoped for that second chance to make new friends. Besides, he'd have to do something when Jack was at work.

Sunday night, the night before Harry's first day, Jack stayed up writing an email to his ex-wife. He was trying to, anyway.

Sarah,

I know that we haven't kept in touch, for the most part. There is a lot that's happened in my life since we last spoke. But I thought that you ought to know that I'm adopting a boy named Harry…

Sarah,

Long time no see. I'm adopting a boy named Harry…

Sarah,

We haven't kept in touch with each other, but something's happening that I'm pretty sure you'll want to hear about from me. I don't suppose either of us ever saw this coming, but it seems like I'm going to adopt a boy. Crazy, huh?

Sarah,

We haven't kept in touch with each other, but something's happening that I'm pretty sure you'll want to hear about from me. I know that this will come as a surprise, but it seems like I'm going to adopt a boy.

I know that this is abrupt, and you probably thought that I'd never be ready for something like this. I thought so too, but it seems that he needs me. His name is Harry, and he's from England, of all things. The point is that he's had a rather horrid life, and he's in an odd situation right now. Life's thrust us together, and so far, things have gone pretty well. Except for the part where I got stabbed…

Sarah,

We haven't kept in touch with each other, but something's happening that I'm pretty sure you'll want to hear about from me. I know that this will come as a surprise, but it seems that I'm going to adopt a boy.

I know that this is abrupt, and you probably thought that I'd never be ready for something like this. I thought so too, but it seems that he needs me. His name is Harry, and he's a nine year old from England, of all things. The point is that he's had a rather horrid life, and he's in an odd situation right now. Life's thrust us together, and so far everything's gone well for us. He's a good kid, and I think we'll be okay.

Hoping you're well,

Jack

Unsatisfied with the letter, he sent it anyway. Getting up, he closed his laptop and made his way to his bedroom. He stopped in the hallway though, when he heard fretful mutterings coming from Harry's room. He hesitated, uncertain, before opening the door and walking through. Harry was squirming in his bed, the sheets tying in knots around him. Jack couldn't make out much from Harry's mutterings, aside from the word, 'no'.

Stepping forward he put a hand on the boy's shoulder and shook him.

"Harry. Harry, wake up. You're having a dream."

Harry didn't wake right away, but when he did, it was instantaneous. He sat up and pushed Jack's arm away, his strength making Jack stumble back. Harry's eyes darted around the room, and the confusion began to fade away as consciousness took hold. His breathing began to even, and he spoke.

"Sorry. I'm sorry Jack," he said, still slightly breathless.

"It's okay, Harry. No harm done."

"Did I wake you?"

"Nah, I was still up. I was going past your door when I heard you. How are you?"

Harry sighed and squeezed his eyes shut briefly. "I'm okay. It was just a dream."

Jack studied Harry before saying, "Come on, lets get some hot chocolate."

"What?"

"Hot chocolate. It makes everything better, even bad dreams."

"You don't have to go through any trouble."

Jack waved his hand dismissively. "We're not baking a soufflé. It doesn't get much simpler than hot chocolate. Well, maybe cookies and milk, but it is winter."

Harry took a moment to get around Jack's train of thought. "Well, okay. But I'll make it."

"You'll make it?"

He nodded. "It'll be practice."

As it turned out, 'practice' meant that Harry wasn't going to use traditional tools such as fire or spoons. In fact, he just took a seat at the kitchen table, and directed the world around him to do his bidding. He mentally pulled things out of cabinets, the milk out of the refrigerator, using gestures with his hands. The only time he touched anything was to briefly touch the side of each milk-filled mug, as he drew his finger away, steam started to rise. In two minutes, Jack's mug settled down in front of him. He took a sip of the chocolate drink, appreciating its calming effects; across from him, Harry did the same.

"So," he said after a couple minutes of comfortable silence, "you want to talk about it?"

Harry grimaced behind his mug. "I wasn't planning on it."

"Well, you might want to think about it." He didn't want to push, but he knew that there were still aspects of his time as a host that still haunted Harry. At least, he assumed that that was what Harry was dreaming about, Harry had never said one way or another.

"Well what good does it do?"

Jack took a moment to choose his words. "When Charlie died, I shut everyone else out. I tried to help Sarah, but I couldn't, because I couldn't even help myself. I couldn't even begin to get better until I opened up, relatively speaking."

Harry glanced up at him. "But I already told you everything."

Jack nodded. "Everything that happened. But there may still be things you haven't really dealt with yet."

Harry was quiet for a moment before asking, "Do you believe in an afterlife?"

Jack wasn't sure if Harry was trying to change the subject or not, but he answered anyway. "I don't know, really. I mean, the Ancients figured a way to exist as energy after they died, so I guess anything's possible."

Again, Harry took a moment to say anything, studying his hot chocolate in contemplation. "It's like he's haunting me."

"The boy?"

Harry nodded. "In my dreams, he tells me that it's all my fault, that I'm going to pay for it. I say I'm sorry, but he says it's not good enough."

Harsh. "I think it's safe to say that that's just your own guilt talking."

"Well, yeah. It's just, all of a sudden aliens are real, so what's to say that …" he shrugged.

"I'd like to think that if the dead could talk to us, they'd do it for better things than haunting. I mean, what about last good byes, or a helping hand. Besides, if revenge were an adequate reason for a haunting, I'd have been driven nuts long ago."

The corners of Harry's mouth twitched up, though his face still seemed morose. "So I feel bad about it. I know Isis was in control, and I was just a kid, but I was strong enough; I proved that. If I'd acted sooner, that kid would still be alive."

"You can't know that, Harry."

"So what, if Isis hadn't killed him, he would have been crushed by a boulder instead."

"No… well, you never know, but that's not what I meant. You don't know that you would have been able to succeed if you'd done it earlier."

"Five minutes wouldn't have made a huge difference."

"Sure, not five minutes. But what Isis did could have made all the difference. You were scared of trying again. Who wouldn't be? But then you saw him kill that kid, and that was when you knew the price that would be paid if Isis stayed in your body. That's what gave you the strength to push him out.

"Harry, if that kid is looking down at you right now, he'd probably be more glad that you saved his village, that his death wasn't in vain. And if your parents were looking down right now, they'd be proud of you. You remember that when you go to bed."

Harry was smiling now, though he looked worn out by the conversation. "What about Isis and Osiris?"

"If they make their way into your dreams, you step on them."

Harry actually laughed at that.

"Come on," said Jack, "let's get you back to bed."

Harry nodded and set his mug down, and got up to walk with Jack back to his room. He was about to get into bed, but he turned to Jack and said, "Thanks," before putting his arms around the man. He stepped back before Jack could return the hug, smiled, and got into bed.

"Good night, Harry," said Jack. He reached down and mussed the boy's hair, before walking out.

!!!!!

"All right class, I'd like you all to meet Harry. He's just recently moved here from across the Atlantic Ocean, in England. Now you all know that the English are a lot like we are here in America, but there are some small differences in how we speak, so I'm sure that you will all be nice as he makes the transition to living in the United States." His sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Applegate, stood next to Harry as she introduced him to the entire class.

"Now, as some of you may have noticed, he is wearing a glove over his left arm. I have been told that it is there for medical reasons, and should not be removed for any reason, so I don't want any of you to ask him to.

"So Harry, if you'll just sit down next to Jimmy there in the second row, we can get started."

Harry felt all of the eyes in the classroom on him as he walked to his desk. There were so many reasons for them to be staring at him, he didn't even know which one it was: his hand; being British; being new. Maybe it was because he was by far the shortest kid in the class. This would be interesting; it was certainly daunting.

Just his luck, they started the day off with a math lesson, multiplying complex fractions together. He finished the simple problems quickly and doodled on his paper while the rest of the class finished the assignment. The teacher approached him as he was trying his hand at writing his name in goa'uld.

"Harry, are you done with the assignment already?" she asked, leaning over his desk.

Harry nodded up at her, hoping he wasn't in trouble.

"Why don't I take a look and see if you're doing all right."

Harry shifted the paper over to her and her eyes darted from one question to the next.

"These are all correct Harry, but you haven't shown any of your work."

"Work?" asked Harry.

"You should be showing the steps you take to get to an answer. That way you can see if you do anything wrong."

"But they're just fractions." The woman nodded. "And I didn't get any wrong."

"Yes, well. When the work gets more challenging, you'll want to show your work, instead of doing it in your head."

"Okay," said Harry, more to get her to let the subject alone than anything else.

The teacher went back to walking around the class, looking over the shoulders of other students, making sure they were all doing all right. Harry went back to his drawings.

After math was science (the effects of iodine on starches), the class was released to recess. Predictably, he was the center of attention. He was immediately encircled by other children, most of them from his class. They quickly went through introductions, and a couple of kids giggled at hearing his accent first hand.

"So what's England like?" asked one bright eyed girl.

"Well," said Harry, slightly flushed from all the attention. "I guess it's a lot like here, except there's a queen, we drive on the other side of the road, and we call cookies 'biscuits'."

Oddly enough, they found biscuits to be the most interesting thing about his English upbringing. There were a couple more questions about the language spoken in England, until one boy asked him about his age.

"You look like an eight year old."

The girl who had asked him about England rolled her eyes at him. "Obviously, he's skipped some grades."

"Well?" asked the boy.

"I'm nine and a half," said Harry, cursing his size. "I skipped a couple grades."

"Yeah, but how many exactly?"

Harry wondered if Americans just didn't use the word 'couple' but he saw another boy snickering at the first. "Two."

"Okay, but what about your hand?" This boy, Arnold, Harry remembered, had obviously been impatient to ask the question.

"What about it?"

"What's wrong with it, what does it look like?"

"Oh, it looks normal. It's just a little red; like a sunburn, I guess. I got a skin infection when I was little. I almost lost my arm, but the cure made the skin really vulnerable to infections."

"That's too bad," said one kid. There were more than a few kids who seemed disappointed that Harry's arm wasn't horribly disfigured under the glove.

Their curiosity quenched, most of the kids drifted away, back to their regular activities. One kid hung back; Harry had forgotten his name.

"My friends have a ball on the field there. Wanna play?"

"Okay," said Harry, relieved that someone at least wanted to hang out with him after the spot light came off.

"We're playing soccer; you any good?"

"What's soccer?" It sounded like a game Dudley would have asked him to play.

"Wait, you have soccer in England."

"I've never heard of it."

"You know. There's a ball, and you can't touch it with your hands, except for the goalies."

"Oh, you mean football."

"No, football's the one with tackling."

"Well that's rugby."

"Rugby?"

It was an odd beginning to a friendship. Harry had fun playing 'soccer,' with the boy (Tommy) and his friends. He had never been the most athletic of boys (he had been a great runner though) but Isis' effect on his body and mind had been profound. After getting used to the game, he quickly became the best player in the informal game. He had to be careful not to hurt the other boys with his superior strength. Harry was introduced to the six other boys, and this time he remembered their names. All in all, recess went well.

The rest of the day went by without too much trouble. English was a fairly easy, courtesy of Steven. History was interesting, and it had nothing to do with ancient Egypt. It was art that Harry appreciated though. It had nothing remotely to do with Isis, and it was nice to lose himself in the activity, even if they were just using colored pencils that day.

When school let out later, Mrs. Applegate asked to see him at her desk. He tried not to get apprehensive about it.

"Harry, hello. No need to be nervous. I was just wondering if you knew how to solve this."

She held out a piece of paper with a hand written equation on it: 3x-35=1. Harry glanced at it.

"'X' equals twelve," he said.

His teacher nodded to herself and took the paper back, before scribbling something else on it. She held it out to him again.

2x^2+4x-3=67

Harry had learned about how powers were written out. He thought about the problem for a few seconds. "'X' equals five," he said. "Or negative seven".

Mrs. Applegate nodded. "That's very good Harry. You could have skipped more than two grades if you had wanted."

Harry shrugged. "I'm don't know enough about history, or writing."

She dismissed those concerns. "A little extra study, and you could be in the eighth grade. At least."

Harry shuffled uncomfortably. "I'm nine and a half. I wouldn't want to go to school with a bunch of teenagers. I'm…learning social skills, here. I want to make some friends too."

The woman sighed. "You are right, I suppose. Still, please tell me that you are receiving outside instruction. A mind like yours should be challenged, and we can't do that here."

"Yeah, I'm going to learn from a tutor, outside of school." You could call it that. "Can I go now? Jack should be waiting for me out front."

"Of course, Harry. And welcome to Colorado."

!!!!!


	6. 05 Shut In

The Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or Stargate. I'm just borrowing them for the time being.

A/N I have replaced the first chapter of Isis' Bane. I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but I had accidentally uploaded a partially edited chapter instead of the finished product. The new chapter is pretty much the same with a few small changes.

Shut In

This was rather amusing actually. Prime Minister Tony Blair stood behind his desk at Ten Downing Street, and in front of him was the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge. The Prime Minister took a good deal of pleasure in being able to say, truthfully, that the British government still didn't know where Harry Potter was. Rather, they didn't know exactly where he was. The proper forms had been filed, and while his exact location had not been included, it was known that the Potter boy was somewhere in the US.

Of course, he saw no reason to tell any of this to Fudge. His kind hadn't taken proper care of the boy in the first place, and he'd be damned if he let them use their abilities to interfere in his life again. After he'd been contacted by Fudge, he'd taken a personal interest in the boy's case. When the Dursley's had made their deal, it had been stipulated that they never tell anyone about their nephew's new residence in the US.

"Well, that is too bad then," the man in front of him said. "Oh well, we never did have much faith in your investigation to begin with. I will send an aide in a month to see if you've made any progress."

He had to force himself not to growl. It wasn't the wizard's investigation that had discovered the abuse that the boy had been through. Still, he had nothing to gain by shouting at the man.

"Now, as to the matter of Black," Fudge continued.

Why couldn't the man ever come with good news?

!!!!!

Cargo containers, thought Sirius, weren't as filled with rats as he had been led to believe, or perhaps he'd chosen the wrong one. He had originally planned to spend the trip as Padfoot, eating whatever rodents he could find, but he'd been forced to change back and sneak into the galley for food. Discovery on this journey could be fatal; no one could know that he was going to America. That meant that he couldn't apparate, and he had had to leave his stolen wand at the border. Still, he had needed food, so the risk had been necessary.

They were looking for him in the UK, of course, and in Egypt, of all places. No one knew though, that his godson was in the US, the Dursleys had been quite sure of that matter. He'd keep it that way if he could. He had to make sure that Harry was okay. Harry couldn't go on the run with him, but Sirius wouldn't just sit by if he was being taken advantage of. He didn't know what the United States Air Force wanted with his godson, but if they'd hurt him, then Sirius vowed to live up to his reputation. The Dursley's had no idea where in the US Harry had been taken, but they knew the name of the American man who had headed the investigation. If he could find Colonel O'Neill, then he'd be one step closer to finding Harry.

Sirius had thought that after eight years on an island prison he wouldn't like the sounds of the sea. But out here on the open ocean, all he felt was the wide open, the freedom. At night, he could stand outside in the shadows as Padfoot, and look out at the endless expanse. Well, until the cold got to him, and he went back to his hiding place near the warm engine. It was his first warm place to sleep since he had gone after Peter.

He'd had many thoughts about Peter during his incarceration. Mostly about murdering him. They hadn't been very happy thoughts though, so he was able to keep them. It was Harry he couldn't think about. He'd had the odd thought about the boy growing up without his parents, but none of the joyful memories of his first year, and not hope for his future. It was the news that Harry was missing that was his motivation to escape. That his godson was in danger, and needed help had been far from a happy thought. He had vowed to do everything he could for his godson, so he sailed on in the dark.

!!!!!

Harry's first week of schooling had gone fairly well. Science and math were still boring, and English was close behind them. Harry was still hanging out with Tommy and his friends (Simon, Philip, Andy, and Mat), who had quickly swallowed him into their group. Today was Monday though and Jack had gone back to the SGC. That meant that after school, Harry was picked up by an Airman and taken to the underground complex. The Airman, who was actually a woman, was quite nice and even a little chatty on the drive to the mountain. Harry was issued a pass and an elevator card when he got there, and a sergeant was assigned to take him to see Doctor Frasier in the infirmary.

The elevator took Harry and the quiet man down to the twenty-sixth sub-level, Harry took his glove off when they got there. The sergeant took him to the infirmary and left him there. The doctor came out of her office.

"Hello Harry, how are you?"

"I'm okay. Do you know when Jack's coming back?"

"Well, he's on a first contact mission with a moderately advanced race. He should be back by eight o'clock, but don't be worried if he isn't."

"Okay," Harry nodded. Jack could take care of himself, after all. "So what am I going to do today?"

"Well, Doctor Lee has been very excited to start working with you. Have you done your homework?"

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I did it in the car."

Janet smirked. "What are you studying now?"

"Ecosystems. They exist." If his voice was a little dry, it was only because he was a little frustrated with the speed of his edcation.

"Jack says you've made some friends."

"Yeah, they're nice. I like hanging out with them." More importantly, they treated him like he was normal, even if his accent was still a source of amusement. Cassandra had been right, it was nice to pretend to be normal. Harry didn't even have to tell many lies ("Jack keeps really odd hours, so I spend a lot of time on base").

"That's good, Harry. So, as I was saying, Doctor Lee was hoping to work with you today. Are you up to it?"

"Yeah, sure. Do you know what he wants to work on?"

"Not a clue. I'm interested in a rather different manner of science."

"I guess it'll be a surprise then."

"That it will. You can take the elevator up one floor; I'll call Doctor Lee so that he can meet you there."

"Okay."

"And come back at six thirty. We'll go have some dinner before I leave."

"What about Cassandra?"

"Hm, she has dinner with her boy friend on Mondays. He eats over on Wednesdays."

"Oh."

"So I'm all yours tonight."

"Okay, thanks. I'll go meet Doctor Lee then."

He left the infirmary and went back to the elevator and swiped his pass in the card reader. The elevator would take him to the surface, and the two floors above the control room. Harry thought that it was cool.

Doctor Lee looked very excited when Harry arrived.

"Ah, hello there, Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too. Sir."

"Oh. Sir. Well, you don't have to call me that. Just call me Lee. Most of the other scientists here do."

"Er, okay then. Lee." That was sort of weird.

"Yes, well, the lab we're in today is just around the corner if you'll come with me."

Harry followed him. "So what do you want to work on?"

"Well, I was hoping to start with some of the basics, crystal technology mainly. How are you coming with the lingo?"

"Er?"

"I mean, the technical jargon. Major Carter said that she'd given you some books to read up on."

"Oh, right. Well, I think I've got the basics down, so I think I should be able to get my points across."

"Good, good. Well, this is it," they walked into the lab. There were two other men in lab coats examining a goa'uld device. "So, Harry, this is Doctor Grahm, and Doctor Holmes. They've been working in my department since the start of the current administration."

"Hi," said Harry.

"Mr. Potter," said Doctor Holmes, "a pleasure to meet you." The doctor next to him inclined his head.

"You too," said Harry. "What are you working on?"

"Well, from what Doctor Reyes had translated, we're pretty sure that this is an energy disruptor. Like an EM pulse generator, I suppose. But this should work on goa'uld technology that has proven somewhat resistant to such attacks."

That was interesting. "I'm not familiar with the device. How's it coming?"

"Well, we haven't managed to turn it on yet. We've been able to determine that there is an active power source, but that's all of the progress we've made."

"Well, can I see?"

"Of course."

Harry stepped forward and examined the device. "Well here's the power button."

Doctor Lee spoke behind him. "We found that already. It just doesn't seem to work."

Harry nodded and ran his fingers over it. He hesitated to push his power into an unfamiliar piece of technology but he didn't need to. He recognized the symbol on one of the corners.

"You need to touch this symbol here when you push the power button. But you need naquedah in your blood. May I?"

"Yes," said Doctor Holmes, "go ahead."

Harry turned it on and it lit up.

"I want a full diagnostic run on that before you take it to the testing chamber," said Lee.

"We have been doing this for a few years," Doctor Grahm finally spoke up.

"And I still remember the last time you two got ahead of yourselves."

Doctor Holmes actually looked a tad sheepish about that. "Thanks, Mr. Potter."

"Yeah," Harry replied. "And you can call me Harry."

"Harry it is," said the man and he extended his hand over the table and Harry shook it.

"Well, Harry," said Lee, "I've set us up over there." He pointed to another corner where a workstation was set up. There were different diagnostic machines, a couple of laptops, and a variety of crystals. They sat down at the workstation. "So, what can you tell me about crystals, Harry?"

Harry picked up one of the smaller crystals. "Making them is the easy part, but it's different depending on what you want the crystal to do. Programming them though, that's what the challenge is going to be. We could use the computer on my ship, but that's not really a long-term solution. I guess you'll want to figure out how to create the interface and base programming software on Earth technology."

Lee nodded. "We've been able to read them for a little while, with a goa'uld interface. But we've wanted a way to make our own for quite a while."

"You do know that I don't know the first think about programming Earth computers."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

They got to work. A few hours later, Harry found himself in the elevator going back to the infirmary. He and Lee had made some good progress, but now it was time for dinner. Two seconds after the elevator had started moving though, everything went black, and the elevator stopped. Harry stumbled in surprise. He noticed his hand device lose power and reset.

"Oh, come on," he said to himself. "I only wanted one floor." He created a ball of light, which cast an eerie glow on the elevator walls. He pushed the emergency call button, but that was dead too. Harry remembered the energy disruption device; apparently the testing chamber wasn't as well shielded as the scientists had thought. Harry hoped that the effect was only temporary.

Ten minutes later, and Harry was pacing the elevator. He had toyed with the idea of dematerializing himself and using the elevator cables as a conduit, but shot it down as too risky. He didn't even know if it would work, let alone where it might let him out. He considered pushing his power through the elevator's control panel, and powering the motors himself, but he knew that the system wouldn't be able to handle it. He kept pacing.

After an hour, Harry realized that his breathing was becoming more rapid. Was he running out of air? Of course not, no one was stupid enough to make an elevator airtight. He noticed his palms were sweating. His heart was thumping quickly in his chest. Something was wrong with him; he needed help. He banged on the elevator door. Everyone else on the base probably had more pressing concerns, that was why no one had come get him.

"Help!" he called out. He had to let them know he needed help. "Something's wrong, I need help!" he cried. Suddenly he knew that that was the wrong thing to do though. He wasn't getting enough air; he needed to stop shouting.

Harry pressed himself into a corner, and sank down. He wasn't ill; something was coming for him, something bad. He had to hide; he had to be quiet. He curled up, his body trembling, and let his ball of light disappear. He was nearly hyperventilating. The walls closed around him.

A while later, he had no idea when, there was a clanging sound above him. This was it, the bad thing was coming for him, and it was going to hurt him. Harry had to get out. He raised his hand device, ready to blast apart the doors, to try to find a way out. But his rational mind stopped him. A blast in the small elevator would give him a concussion, if not worse. But he still had to get out, he needed to escape or he'd die. He took a few gasps of air, and then he did something foolish. It worked though. He raised his shield, and simultaneously opened a micro-hyperspace window and dematerialized himself into it. A millionth of a second later, Harry reappeared on a mountaintop. It was not Cheyenne Mountain, of that Harry could be certain. Still gasping for breath, he tried to figure out what had gone wrong; he had wanted to appear in Janet's infirmary. He closed his eyes and tried to bring his body back under his control, but it wasn't happening. It didn't help that the mountaintop was freezing cold as frigid winds blew past. Closing his eyes, Harry once again focused on where he wanted to be. Raising his shield, he disappeared once again through a hyperspace window. A millionth of a second later, he was where he wanted to be, the long room was lit by emergency lights.

"Harry," he heard her call out to him. He sank to the floor and kept shaking. He was safe again.

Janet rushed over and got down next to him. "Harry," she said, looking him over. "What happened?" She started taking his pulse.

"I was-" he said, his breathing coming back under his control, "I was stuck. Um-" He remembered feeling as though something was coming for him, that he would die. Well that had been ridiculous.

"Come on, let's get you onto this bed." She picked him up to lay him on the nearest bed.

"I'm okay, really."

"Harry, you just had a panic attack."

He shook his head. "I just didn't like being stuck in there."

"Your heart rate is at least one-fifty, and you were gasping for breath. Now I need you to take some deep breaths and try to calm down. You're safe now."

Harry nodded and did his best to follow her instructions. He remembered the mental state that he would slip into when fighting, and used it to slowly bring his body back under control.

Someone came into the room in a hurry. "Ma'am. We got into the elevator, but the boy wasn't… Oh."

"That's all right, Airman. He managed his own escape."

"But how?"

"That's not important at the moment. I'm taking care of him right now, and I'm sure you still have work to do."

"Yes ma'am." The man left.

Doctor Frasier returned to him.

"Harry, why is there snow in your hair?"

Harry drew a deep breath through his nose. "I came out at the wrong place the first time."

"Okay Harry, why don't you try to get some rest?" She ran a hand through his hair. Harry nodded and closed his eyes. But sleep wouldn't come for him.

!!!!!

Jack stepped out of the Stargate only a few minutes later with the rest of his team. The blast doors opened after the gate shut down and Janet came through with the General, he noticed the hallway beyond was lit by emergency lights.

"You guys been busy?"

"Doctors Holmes and Grahm tested the device found on P4X-381," said General Hammond. "Unfortunately the field escaped containment. Every system went offline. Every circuit board that wasn't shielded was fried. We nearly lost two members of SG-7 when the iris closed automatically."

"How's Harry?"

"Harry has been considerably better," said Janet.

Before Jack could ask anything else, the General spoke up. "We'll debrief at o' eight hundred tomorrow."

Jack nodded and followed Janet out of the gate room, the rest of his team trailing behind. They had to take the stairs in the briefing room to get up to the infirmary. Jack walked ahead with Janet.

"What happened," he asked her.

"He was trapped in an elevator for about an hour and a half. Alone. He had a panic attack. Eventually though, he did something to get out."

"Something?" asked Jack.

Janet nodded. "Sam said that he needed a line of sight to do his disappearing act, but he managed to pop into my infirmary somehow."

Jack was losing his patience. "Okay, just the bottom line here, how is he now?"

"He's resting, or trying to anyway. There's an orderly with him right now. He'll be fine though. He would have probably come to greet you if I hadn't told him to stay in bed."

"So why'd this happen?"

"I don't know, Colonel, I'm not a psychiatrist."

"Janet-"

"He could be claustrophobic. Maybe he has a panic disorder. Or maybe this was just a one-time thing. I don't know Jack. I left my couch at home; all I have are hospital beds."

"Alright," said Jack. "But, claustrophobic?"

"It's a possibility."

"Okay. So what now?"

"Now you let him rest, get yourselves cleared by my nurses, and get him some dinner. He already has an appointment with Doctor Casey tomorrow afternoon anyway. I need to get home, and I have to take a ladder up twenty-two of those floors. I suggest you spend the night here."

"Good night, Janet," said Sam from behind them.

"Good night," she said, addressing them all. "I'll see you tomorrow." With that she split off from them.

When they entered the infirmary, Jack could see Harry all the way at the other end of the room. He motioned for everyone to keep their voices down. After he was cleared by one of the nurses (Jenny?), he walked over to Harry's bed and shook his shoulder.

Harry hadn't been asleep though, and he turned over to look up at Jack. He sat up and put his arms around him. It was the sort of hug that asked him to chase the monsters away. He wrapped his arms around Harry's small frame.

"Hey, kid."

Harry ended the hug and Jack stepped back to get a look at him. He looked ready to sleep for a week.

"Come on, let's get some dinner."

!!!!!

"You want to talk about it?"

Jack had taken Harry to his guest room after dinner. They hadn't spoken of anything important, just the mission and school. Harry was sitting on his bed, and Jack at the desk, fiddling with a pencil. The room was lit by a plug-in emergency light by the door. Jack could tell that Harry had wanted to talk about what had happened, but wasn't able to bring it up himself.

"I think I know why it happened," said Harry after a moment.

"Oh?"

"Steven knew a bit about psychology. Isis found it useful, back when he was pretending to be human."

"So what do you think?"

"You know the line: wait till your father gets home?"

"Yeah."

"It was, 'Wait till Vernon gets home,' for me. I waited in my- room until he came home. And it wasn't a grounding or a spanking. A lot of the time, I couldn't go to school the next day."

Jack's breath caught, and he had to clear his throat. "So you think that the two are related?" He had already figured that the chances of Harry's mistreatment being contained to being forced to sleep in a closet to be quite small. It didn't make his impulse to board a plane to the UK with a crow bar any less appealing in that moment though.

"He almost killed me once." The pencil in Jack's hand snapped. "Er, he stepped on my chest, and I almost couldn't breathe. I blacked out."

Jack made sure to keep his voice even. "You're saying that waiting in your cupboard and waiting in the elevator became the same?" It was hard to stay on topic.

"Maybe? Anyway, I wanted to tell you, 'cause I didn't want to have to tell the shrink tomorrow."

"You're not going to tell the shrink?"

"That would be weird. But, like, you're supposed to tell someone, and then it gets better, right?"

"I don't know, Harry. I hope so." Harry had been through enough already, it just wouldn't be right for him to not be okay.

"Ok. Are you going to bed now?"

"Nah, I need to type up some paper work."

"You could do it in here. My laptop is in my bag right there. They must have got it from the elevator. It was off at the time so it should still work."

"You want me to work here?"

"Well, if you want to."

"All right then." He remembered when Charlie had been little, and had wanted reassurance that there were no monsters in his room. It sucked that Harry's were real.

Jack got out Harry's laptop and Harry got ready for bed. Harry looked over to the emergency light.

"Um, here," he said before making a dimmer ball of light and tossing it at the wall behind the desk, where it stuck. He turned off the emergency light and got into bed.

"Good night, Jack."

"Night Harry."

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"What do I do if it happens again? If I'm in public, I mean."

"I guess you should find an adult, ask for help."

"But I'm supposed to be strong."

"No one's strong all of the time."

"I hope it doesn't happen again."

"Me too, kid." Vernon Dursley was very lucky that an ocean separated them right then. Harry needed Jack to be right where he was.

!!!!!

Tuesday was again started by a fairly normal school day. They started with a math test. Harry wound up doodling on his scratch paper for twenty minutes. Deciding not to obsess over things he couldn't change, Harry didn't think about his upcoming psych evaluation. The original purpose had been to make sure Harry would be able to participate in the Stargate program. But Harry had no doubt that the focus would turn to the incident in the elevator. That morning he had looked up panic attacks on the Internet. With luck, what had happened could be passed off as a one-time incident brought on by severe life changes. For all he knew, that's all it was anyway. Either way, he didn't want to talk to a stranger about all of his darkest secrets.

Jack had taken Harry up to the surface so Harry could get a ride to school, and the elevators had been fixed by then. Harry hadn't had a problem riding up, but he thought that he had stood unusually close to Jack. Now he was scared of having a panic attack. Perfect.

He was picked up from school at the same time as the day before, and after he checked in on the surface, he hesitated before getting in the elevator. This time he'd be traveling alone. 'Get a grip,' he told himself. 'People ride this thing hundreds of times every day.' He stepped on and backed into the corner. The ride was uneventful, and he got off at Janet's level again.

"Hi," he greeted her.

"Hello, Harry. How are you?"

"I'm okay, school was fine."

She looked at him, obviously wanting more.

"I rode down alone."

"How was that?"

"Okay. Nothing happened."

"That's good."

"Do you know when Jack's coming back?" He knew that Jack had likely gone on a longer mission that day. Still, it couldn't hurt to ask.

"He's supposed to get back tomorrow. He went back to the planet they visited yesterday. Apparently they have some goa'uld artifacts they're willing to let us look at. Are you going to be alright with that?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," said Harry. Sure it wasn't great, but was used to a lot less.

"So, you have an appointment with Captain Casey in," she checked her watch, "seventeen minutes. You can work with Doctor Lee again after that, if you want. Otherwise, come back here, and we'll figure out something else for you to do."

"Okay. Where am I meeting her?"

"She'll be coming here for you. There's a small conference room down the hall that you'll be using. Are you done with your homework?"

Harry shook his head. "I only have reading left." He held up a copy of _The Great Brain_.

"Oh, Cassandra read that one too. How do you like it?"

"It's cool, sort of. I mean, the most advanced technology they have is the light bulb. It's all really different."

"We've sure done a lot in the past hundred years."

"Yeah."

"Well, you can read here while you wait. I have paperwork to do right now."

"Okay." He sat in the chair reading by the door while Doctor Frasier worked in her office. He'd read past the assigned pages by the time the psychologist came.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up at the middle-aged woman who stood in front of him. She seemed to be a paradox, looking both imposing and warm at the same time. Harry wasn't sure how she did that.

"Hi," he said.

"Hello, I'm Captain Casey. I see to the psychological needs of those who work at the SGC."

Harry nodded; he knew that already.

"Shall we walk down to the room we'll be using?"

"Okay," he said, and put his book away. He slung his backpack over his shoulders and walked out beside her. "So why don't you have an office?"

"Oh, I do, it's just not on base. Surprisingly enough, I don't get called in here very often. A lot of my work is done in my office, so soldiers don't have to be in a military setting when they talk to me."

"Okay," he said. They reached the door to the room and walked in, sitting across from each other at the large table. There was a box of donuts and a pitcher of water for them. Harry wasn't hungry.

"So, Harry, do you have any questions?"

"Um," he thought. "What theoretical frame do you follow?"

She did seem surprised that he asked that question, though she hid it well. "Well, I wouldn't say I followed any one theory; not a single one answers all the questions. For treatment, I tend to take things on a case-by-case basis. But, if you're looking for a more definitive answer, then I'd have to say that, working for the military, I focus a lot on the Cognitive and Behavioral theories. Of course, sometimes it helps to follow a client-centered framework."

Harry knew what some of that meant. "All right," he nodded. He wasn't sure what it meant for him, but he got the gist of what she'd said.

"Are there any other questions you have before we start?"

Harry nodded again, "what if I don't pass?"

"Harry this isn't a test, and I'm pretty sure that the government will want your help regardless of what I put in my report."

"But what if you find out that I'm a narcissistic sociopath, who can't keep a secret?"

The corners of her mouth twitched. "Harry, I don't think we'd be sitting here right now if any of that were true."

"Yeah, but still."

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Erm, I'm actually quite good at it."

"And how did you like working with Doctor Lee yesterday?"

"Well, it was sort of fun, actually."

"I don't think I'll have much to say about you working here, Harry. And what could I say? There isn't exactly any literature about your situation. Now, you have a colorful past, to put it loosely, and more recently you've stepped into a dark fantasy world. It's more than possible you have problems that I could help you with. That's why we're here."

"I wouldn't say I have problems."

"You attempted to commit suicide almost a month ago, and you had a panic attack yesterday."

Harry cleared his throat, his face turning red. "But those can all be attributed to sudden life changes, and I'll get better as I adapt."

"The internet has become rather useful, hasn't it?"

Harry flashed a hesitant smile.

"Assuming that that is the sole explanation for those events, well, I could help you there."

"Well, I guess that that's all right."

"So Harry, why don't you tell me about yourself."

!!!!!

When he left at the end of the hour, Harry still didn't know what to think of the woman. She'd given him some advice, about both what to do if he ever felt as bad as he had that month ago, and how to help prevent another panic attack. Apparently, still riding in elevators was a good thing. Later, the Captain typed up her notes about the meeting.

Client recently presented with a panic attack whilst stuck in an elevator. Due to recent events (see referral sheet), this event is not necessarily indicative of a chronic disorder. Previous chronic abuse may be a factor, though client was not forthcoming regarding his previous home life (see referral sheet). At this time, regular therapy is not recommended, client has support structure and is adapting. Schedule follow-up session in two week's time.

All things in perspective, client appears to be adapting quite well to both his new environment and his new understanding of the world. He is making friends close to his own age, bonding with his new guardian, and is working to become a productive member of the SGC. There have been no complaints from the school, and the client seems to have deflected attention from his gloved hand (see referral sheet). Client does complain that many of his school subjects are boring (being far too simple). He has skipped two grades all ready.

Recommend that he be observed by all care givers and associates. Non-adaptive behavior should be noted.

While it would not normally be recommended that a child be involved in top-secret materials, he already is, and this cannot be taken back. The client does not seem to be a security risk. His desire to seem normal, and his desire for adult approval should keep his secrets close to his heart, for good or ill.

!!!!!

Harry didn't spend much time with Doctor Lee that afternoon; he left at five with Janet. That night he had dinner with her and Cassandra. He slept on her couch, and she took him to school the next morning. That would come to be the way Harry would spend most of his Tuesday evenings.

Jack came back through the Stargate exactly when he was supposed to at two-twenty. He was able to greet Harry himself when Harry arrived after school. They shared a brief reunion as Jack walked him to Doctor Lee's lab, before Jack had to get back to writing his mission report. His mission had gone well. The world he had gone to had bountiful naquedah mines, and the government was more than willing to trade for it. Of all things, what they had wanted most was fruit. Like the Tollans, they had a very limited ecosystem.

Doctor Lee seemed to get even more excited about working with Harry every day. He'd told Harry that he thought they could start fabricating the machines that they'd need to make their own crystals. Programming was coming more slowly. Daniel's reference books on goa'uld helped to a degree, but for the most part, they were creating their own system from scratch, mixing goa'uld and human technology. The man bemoaned the fact that he wouldn't have Harry until the next week. Harry would be going to Simon's house the next day after school, and Sam had claimed his time for Friday afternoon.

Jack showed up again at five and they left the lab together. They stopped in front of the elevator and Jack looked down at Harry.

"Janet said you've been okay riding the elevators."

Harry nodded. "Nothing's happened, even when I ride alone."

"That's good." He pushed the up button. "So how was your meeting with the captain?"

"It was okay. She said I didn't need therapy, or anything."

Jack smiled. "I heard." The elevator doors opened. "What did you think of her?"

Harry shrugged. "She was okay, I guess. She wasn't pushy like the shrinks on TV."

Jack nodded as the elevator sped up the shaft. "So, what do you want to do for dinner?"

Harry still wasn't used to answering such questions, and had to think hard about what he would like to eat.

"Spaghetti and meatballs." This was his default answer to the question, when he couldn't think of anything else. Fortunately, Jack liked the meal well enough.

Mid winter, the sun had already set; only its glow from behind the mountains shed any light on the world, making the snow on the ground shimmer at odd moments. Driving home, they spoke of nothing serious, chatting about the two days they had spent apart.

Getting home though, things became serious again, as they saw another car out front, and lights on inside.

"Harry," said Jack, "stay in the car. Don't get out unless I tell you to. Stay out of sight, especially if anyone else comes out."

"But Jack!" Harry could help; what if Jack was hurt.

"Stay in the car. You know how this works; you aren't to put yourself in danger. Now if I'm not back in five minutes, I want you to put those driving skills you told me you have to use and get somewhere safe. Then call the police. Cell reception here is hit and miss, get back to the main road."

"Okay," said Harry. He wasn't sure if he meant it.

Jack got out of the car and pulled out his pistol before quickly making his way to the front door, keeping low to the ground. The front door was locked; he couldn't tell where the intruder had gotten in.

He slowly unlocked and opened the door, and stealthily walked in, his gun in front of him. He didn't have far to go though; the intruder was sitting on the couch, in the living room.

"Sarah, what the…" he started, flummoxed at the sight of his ex-wife. "When did you get a new car?"

"Jack nice to see you. Should I have sent you an email about the car?"

"Sarah, I-"

"Actually, if I had big news, I would have called you. With a telephone. I sort of thought that I warranted a phone call, but I guess a two paragraph email will have to do."

"I'm sorry. It's been hectic, and well, it is a rather big can of worms."

"Not even a hand written letter."

"Yes, well-" he remembered something he'd almost forgotten. "Harry."

"What?"

"Harry's in the car. I should go get him before he goes to call the cops." He turned around to the door.

"Right."

"Wait," he said, turning back to her. "How did you get in?"

"You gave me a key four years ago, said I could return the favor of dropping by unannounced."

"I didn't mean literally."

"Don't you have a boy to retrieve?"

"Right." He went back for Harry.

"Harry," he said, opening the door. "Everything's okay, it's Sarah."

Harry paused. "Daniel's ex-girlfriend broke into your house?"

"No, my ex-wife used the key I gave her."

"She didn't call first?"

"Apparently, that's a touchy subject. Come on, it seems it's time for you to meet her."

Harry followed him back to the house, obviously deep in thought. Jack figured that it was probably awkward for him too. They walked through the door; Sarah was standing in the entryway, looking a little unsure herself. Jack handled the introductions.

"Harry, this is Sarah. Sarah, this is Harry."

Sarah smiled at Harry, but the smile turned into a curious frown when she saw his right hand. The glove had been taken off in the truck and forgotten. Jack followed her gaze.

"Yeah, that's sort of classified." She gave him a look. "Hey, we didn't do it to him. We rescued him from the guys that did it." Harry cleared his throat. "Okay, he rescued himself, and we rescued him from the rest of the world."

"Something like that," Harry nodded.

"All right then," said Sarah, for lack of anything else to say.

"Harry," said Jack, "why don't you go finish your homework while Sarah and I talk. Then we can all have dinner together."

"I already finished my homework."

"Right, of course you did."

"I can make dinner," he said.

"Yes, you do that. Sarah and I will be in the living room."

Harry nodded and exited to the kitchen. The sound of pots and pans being shuffled around was soon heard. Jack and Sarah walked over to the living room.

"So what, mac and cheese tonight?" asked Sarah.

"More like home made meat balls. One of his former guardians was a Martha Stuart wanna be."

"You don't think much of them?"

"One of the many reasons for them being former."

"So how did this disadvantaged British orphan, with golden jewelry stuck on him, and precocious cooking skills come to be involved with the US Air Force? Next you'll be telling me that his dog is classified as well."

There was a moment of silence before Jack asked the obvious question.

"What dog?"

The uncommon sound of giggling came from the kitchen, and Harry called out to him.

"Jack, there's a dog in the house."

Jack blinked a couple times before walking to the kitchen. Harry stood there giggling as a large black dog excitedly licked every part of the boy it could get to.

"Can we keep him?" asked Harry.


	7. 06 Force

Disclaimer: I am not nearly awesome enough to be the creator or owner of either Harry Potter or Stargate.

Force

This was the part of parenting that Jack had never liked: saying 'no'.

"It's not that I don't want a dog, Harry, but dogs need a lot of care, and we're not always here. It's not like you could take him with you."

"Aw. Are you sure?"

"Yeah. We'll take him in to the animal shelter before school tomorrow. We should tie him up outside to make sure he doesn't run off."

"But it's cold outside. He's real friendly, I'm sure he's well trained."

Jack considered the happy dog. "Sit," he told it. The dog sat. "Roll over." The dog rolled over. Jack shrugged. "He can spend the night then."

"Cool," said Harry.

"I am sorry Jack," said Sarah. "He looked like he owned the place, so I let him in."

"Yeah well, just as long as you didn't let anyone else in." He turned back to Harry. "We'll just leave you to your cooking then." He and Sarah returned to the living room to continue their discussion.

"So, you were about to tell me all of your secrets."

"Hardly. I believe the word 'classified' was on the tip of my tongue."

"I know that you can tell me more than that."

Jack sighed. "Harry was abducted by a couple of individuals I was after. While I was looking into his life, looking for leads, he incapacitated his captors and escaped. I later found him and rescued him from another situation. After that, we both figured we needed each other."

"Four sentences; I'm impressed."

"I think I got all of the important points across. We just have to pass an inspection in a couple months, and then everything's official."

"And that thing on his arm?"

"We don't really let people see it, so I don't have a good cover story for you. Anyway it happened when he was escaping his captors."

"I can't imagine how that makes sense."

"Aren't you used to that by now? Heck, you know more than anyone not affiliated with the Air Force."

"That would make me feel better if I hadn't found out by accident."

"About the arm thing sure, but it's not like we're telling everyone that he's a person of interest in top secret matters."

"Well, I suppose that'll do."

"So, I spilled," he ignored her scoff, "your turn."

"What do you want to know?"

Jack shrugged. "How've you been?"

She sighed. "After that insanity you brought into my life four years ago, I don't know, I started getting out of the house more."

"Oh yeah?"

"I started taking piano lessons, and I'm learning Italian."

"Italian?"

She shrugged. "I've always wanted to go there. Now I will."

"Well good, that's great."

It was nice talking to each other again, though a little strange. They'd been apart for so long, they couldn't communicate as they once had. Still, it was almost therapeutic to catch up with each other's lives. Dinner was a laid back affair, the three spoke of inconsequential matters. She left afterward, having all ready taken a room at a nearby hotel.

!!!!!

Sirius watched as Harry spent a couple of hours after dinner studying from a couple of the large textbooks. He couldn't imagine what his godson was doing reading about physics. He had the feeling that he was in for a lot more surprises; the information that Harry was going to be adopted by the colonel had been shock enough. After studying, Harry went to the colonel and asked to spar. Sirius didn't like the sound of that, he was pretty sure sparing was what muggles called practicing hand-to-hand combat. He wasn't wrong. The two did some simple sparring in the small space cleared in the living room. Oddly enough, they seemed to be teaching each other different techniques.

Afterward, a sweaty Harry settled onto one of the footstools and pulled a marble out of his pocket.

"Are you going to practice with the force?"

Force?

"Yeah, I had an idea last night." Harry levitated a marble, and Sirius barked in surprise.

"It's okay boy," said Harry, "it's only energy."

"Hey," said Jack, "you think there're any animals that can use your energy."

"I don't know, anything's possible."

"You think so?"

"Maybe. I mean, I have to understand a lot of what I do, but some stuff is instinctual. I still don't know why I can access the energy and other people can't. I do know that it doesn't have anything to do with my time as a host."

Sirius appreciated his strong heart, because this was one shock too many. Here was his godson practicing wandless magic, and chatting with his muggle guardian like it was nothing.

Harry started moving the marble in a wide circle. Then the marble disappeared, reappearing on the other end of the circle, before continuing on its route.

"What are you trying to do?"

"I want to see if I can tie this off as a system, like my balls of light."

"Oh great, this'll be the next annoying nick-knack people give each other."

"What?"

"I can see them now, little marbles whizzing over peoples desks, disappearing and reappearing. They'll be sold at those annoying booths at the mall."

Harry laughed.

The colonel kept talking while Harry worked. "So what did you do to get out of that elevator? Sam's been dying to bug you about it."

"I opened a hyperspace window and shot my matter stream through it."

"Are you joking?"

Harry shook his head.

"It's just that I can't tell sometimes."

"I'm not joking."

"So you can open hyperspace windows without any technology whatsoever."

"Yeah," said Harry, with a touch of insecurity.

"Sam's going to be doing cartwheels."

Harry shook his head at the image. "I don't think she's going to be very happy with me, it wasn't a real emergency."

"Hey, don't think I'm happy about it either. Even I know that messing with hyperspace is dangerous. I'm just glad you came out in one piece. But I get that you thought that you were in danger; Sam will too."

"I hope so, I don't want her to be disappointed."

"Hey, have some faith. Now come on, lets see you tie off your nick-knack."

Harry rolled his eyes and focused on the marble. It made a half-circle, disappeared, and reappeared at its starting point. But instead of returning to its path, it continued its former trajectory, and hit Harry in the forehead. The marble dropped to the ground, and Harry rubbed the spot where it had hit him. Jack couldn't help it, he laughed.

"I'll need to work on this one," Harry grumbled.

When Harry and Jack went to bed that night, Sirius still had one thought predominate in his mind. What the hell was hyperspace?

!!!!!

Harry woke up the next day to find that the dog had crawled up onto the foot of his bed. Harry didn't come close to reaching the foot of his bed, so he hadn't noticed before. He smiled at the canine; he wished that they could keep him. After breakfast, Jack tried to get the dog into the back of the pickup, but the formerly obedient dog ran off into the surrounding woods. Harry hoped that they would see the dog again; they hadn't even had a chance to name it.

After another perfectly boring day at school, Harry went to Simon's house as planned with the rest of the kids. He met Simon's mother and little sister, and he was introduced to a game called Dungeons and Dragons. Harry thought it was fun, in a silly sort of way. He created a character, and chose to be a warlock; he appreciated the irony. The afternoon was enjoyable; he was going on a pretend quest and eating junk food, and for the whole afternoon, he was a normal little boy.

The dog was back when Jack took him home that night. They had them take out for dinner, and Harry told Jack and the dog all about his day, going into detail about the game he had learned about. Afterward, spent a short amount of time finishing the homework he hadn't done at school. He and Jack did a little sparring for fun afterward. When they were finished, Jack insisted that Harry had been far too studious, and that they should blow up some space aliens instead. Harry didn't argue with that.

Before going to sleep that night, Harry curled up with a book on astrophysics, underlining erroneous information as he went along. The dog lay down at his feet.

"You know," said Harry, "I'm going to have to name you something. I can't just keep calling you boy; that wouldn't be right." Harry could still remember a time when he had thought his name was boy.

"How about 'Sparky'?"

The dog sneezed.

"You're right, that's a terrible name. Hm, I know: 'Jet', 'cause you're jet black. Get it?"

The dog stared at him blankly.

"Right, of course you don't. Anyway, Jet's a fine name.

Jack walked into the room. "Time for bed, Harry."

"Aw, couldn't I finish the chapter?"

"What are you reading?"

"Advanced Astro-Physics."

"Yeah, we need to introduce you to comic books, or something. How long are the chapters?"

"Erm, about thirty pages."

"And how far are you into the chapter?"

"Five pages."

"Right, time for bed."

"Aw, okay." It had been worth a shot. "Oh, I named the dog."

"You know we're not keeping him, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. So what did you name him?"

"Jet."

"Because he's fast?"

"No, because he's black."

"Oh, I get it. Night Harry."

"Night Jack."

Jack turned out the light.

!!!!!

Friday afternoon, Jack ate lunch with the rest of his team.

"So, I don't think I'm ever going to get grandchildren."

"Why's that, Sir?" asked Sam.

"Harry's been playing Dungeons and Dragons with his new friends."

Trying not to laugh at her superior officer, Sam covered with a cough, while Daniel let out an indignant, "Hey!"

"I do not understand," said Teal'c.

Sam spoke up. "Dungeons and Dragons is a role playing game. Players pretend to be characters, some of them mythical, on a quest. They sit around a table and talk through scenarios, using various rules and randomizing agents. It also has a stereotype of being favored by the less," she searched for the right words, "socially competent."

"A stereotype that's completely erroneous," added Daniel.

"I rest my case," said Jack. At Daniel's inquisitive look, he clarified, "Erroneous."

Daniel rolled his eyes. He knew Jack wasn't serious about the whole thing, but still, "You don't know how to work with dwarfs and bards."

"There are really bards?" asked Jack.

"Don't worry, Jack," said Daniel, "in colder areas, it can take the place of outdoor sports in the winter. Come spring, they may well be playing street hockey."

Jack smiled. He'd have to start indoctrinating Harry soon in regards to sports. They had so much time to make up for. Seeking to change the subject, he waited until Sam was taking a drink to say, "So Harry opened a hyperspace window on Monday." Daniel was sprayed with Sam's water. Score.

"A hyperspace window? Harry traveled through a hyperspace window?" she asked.

"His matter-stream did, anyway. You can get all the juicy details out of him tonight."

"He shouldn't have done that," Sam said seriously, "but just think about what we could learn if we could observe the formation of a hyperspace window." She got up from her seat, excitement evident in her voice. "I need to go talk to Dr. Grahm." She walked away, obviously lost in thought all ready.

Jack glanced at her half-full plate. "Anyone want her pie?"

Teal'c inclined his head.

!!!!!

Harry walked down the corridor that led to Sam's lab. He was glad that the week was over, and was looking forward to working with Sam, though he was a little worried about her reaction to his jaunt through hyperspace. Dr. Lee greeted him, having come up from behind.

"Afternoon, Harry. Here to see Major Carter?"

"Yeah, we're going to be looking at my abilities."

"Well, it should be exciting. I won't be able to attend though, I have a new project that I need to start."

"How's the crystal project coming?"

"Very well, we're looking at creating our first prototypes in a week. Of course, I've given the project to R and D in Area 51. I'm putting my weight into the shield project next."

"Cool. Um, see you next week then."

They parted ways, and Harry continued on to the lab. Sam was already there with Dr. Grahm and a man Harry didn't recognize. Alarm bells went off in his head as he sensed a symbiote in the man.

"Goa'uld," he shouted in warning, his eyes flashing reflexively. He raised his hand, a ball of plasma formed, ready to be thrown. Sam jumped in front of the man though.

"Whoa," she cried. "Harry, he's Tok'ra, not goa'uld."

His heart racing, every muscle tense, Harry stared at the man mistrustfully, but lowered his hand at Sam's words. He did not let go of the plasma.

"You're sure he's not goa'uld?" asked Harry.

"Positive," said Sam. "This is my father, General Jacob Carter."

Harry let the plasma dissipate; she had told him about her father before. "Sorry," he said bashfully, his body struggling to return to equilibrium.

Jacob spoke up carefully. "That's all right, Harry. Those are good reflexes."

"Thanks, um, nice to meet you." He deepened his voice and addressed the symbiote. "**Greetings,**" he said in goa'uld, "**how can I address you?" **

Jacob dipped his head, and his eyes flashed. "**English is acceptable, **and my name is Selmak," he finished in English.

Doctor Grahm spoke for the first time. "It's over, right? You're not going to fight and destroy this incredibly expensive equipment?" Everyone looked over at him, unsure of how to respond. "Hey," he said defensively, "I requisitioned most of this stuff myself."

"You're paycheck's safe, Garry," said Sam. "Shall we get to work?" she asked. They all nodded. Work seemed much more attractive than more drama. "All right," she continued. "Harry, we've collected every instrument we think might be useful in observing what your energy is, and how it works. That includes an EEG, so we're going to need to attach some wires to a few locations on your scalp."

"Okay," said Harry. "There's no probes though, right." He remembered Jacks promise about that.

Jacob snorted, and his daughter answered, "No probes, Harry."

"Actually," said Doctor Grahm, "there is one instrument we could use-"

"Garry," warned Sam.

"Or we could just not use any probes," said the Doctor.

"EEGs don't hurt, either, Harry."

"I know," he said, and he stepped up to her so she could fit the mesh cap over his head. There were at least forty wires running from it, Harry could feel the cool metal of the leads against his scalp. Doctor Grahm activated the device from across the room.

"Lead twenty-three isn't in contact," he informed Sam. Sam fiddled with the cap, and the Doctor gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright, let's get everything else up and running," she said, and numerous devices came on and started recording whatever it was that they recorded. Sam addressed Harry. "My father brought a couple Tok'ra sensors, so half of this stuff is obsolete, but I like redundancy when it comes to experiments."

"Are we ready to start?" asked her father.

"Yeah," said Sam, "everything's recording."

"Okay, Harry, I'm going to need you to stay where you are right now. That's where all of these instruments are pointed. Are you ready?"

He had been ready for a while. He was as curious as they were. "I'm ready," he said.

"Right then," said the General, and Selmak took over. "Is there a state between resting and using this power, when you first access it?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

Selmak nodded. "Then I would like you to access this power without doing anything with it."

Harry reached into himself and embraced the energy, letting it fill him.

"Well that's interesting," said Sam, watching the EEG readings.

"Wait," said Doctor Grahm, "which part of the brain is that?"

"Who says we have a name for it yet?" asked Sam.

"We've got some interesting readings over here," said Jacob from his Tok'ra scanners.

"What do you make of them?" asked Sam, sticking her head up.

"I don't know; that's why it's interesting."

"Can I move now?" asked Harry.

"Oh yeah," said Sam, "come on over here and take a look at this."

They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the lab, all of them excited about making new discoveries. Jack came in to watch after five, and did his best not to get in the way.

Harry was having a great time. Finally, they were scratching the surface on the mystery of his abilities. Harry knew that by understanding how the power worked he could better manipulate it, but mostly it was all just fun. Working with the three adult scientists as an equal, and learning things never before studied was exciting.

After their initial test (which was repeated two more times), Harry started using his power to manipulate the world around himself. This was less successful. They did learn that aside from whichever section of his brain that activated when he used the power, different areas of his brain would react, depending on what he was doing. Sam also pointed out that the thermal camera showed no notable changes in his body temperature, indicating that whatever was happening did not involve many chemical changes in his body. Sam still vowed to examine his blood samples more closely.

Things got more interesting when Sam suggested that instead of manipulating something, he simply push his energy out of his body. Harry did as asked, and produced a flurry of sparks. He had done it before, back on the ship, when he had first explored his abilities. He didn't understand why his power manifested itself as such when he pushed it out. When he did it in the lab though, there was a new result; the energy wreaked havoc on all of the human electronics in the room. In the wake of the disruption, many of the machines struggled to regain equilibrium, while a few instruments were obviously broken. Doctor Grahm was too excited to care about the equipment; they finally had some real results.

!!!!!

Eventually, the group had to break for dinner, and they had to call it a night; Sam was expected at Doctor Frasier's for Cassandra's birthday. Jet was waiting for them when they got home, and jumped excitedly when they returned. Harry told the big black dog all about his day before bed.

When he woke up, he wrote an email to Sam about some of the thoughts he had had the night before. As he wrote, he reflected on the excitement that had filled the lab the night before; they had all known that they were doing revolutionary work. He closed his laptop, dressed, and walked out. Jet jumped off of his bed and followed. Harry smelled the sausages before he reached the kitchen. He figured that Jack was in a good mood to be doing something more than cereal.

"Morning Harry, how'd you sleep?"

Harry shrugged. "Okay. I guess I was pretty tired. What are we going to do today?"

"I have a surprise for you." Harry perked up. "We're going to a carnival."

Harry had never been to a carnival before. "Really?"

"Yeah, there's going to be snow games, rides, and oh, various fried foods. That includes funnel cake."

"Cool," said Harry. "When can we go?"

"Right after breakfast. We'll have a full day of fun, and not one bit of work to do."

Harry was very excited, going so far as to fidget through the car ride; this was the sort of thing he had always been jealous of. Whenever Dudley was able to go to a fair or zoo, Harry had had to stay with a sitter. Now it was his turn.

The carnival was everything he had expected, and more. The sights, sounds, and even smells all had an allure that he had never experienced before. There was something about the joys of the carnival that couldn't be overshadowed by any of Harry's paranormal experiences. So, for a whole day, Harry and Jack went from one attraction to the next, eating junk food and goofing off.

They got home late that night, exhausted. They never had a chance to rest though, because there was a message waiting for them on the answering machine, telling them that they were needed at the SGC.

!!!!!

Jack checked his cell phone after getting the message. He'd missed three calls to the loud noise of the carnival. The first had come in seven hours before. He and Harry got back into the car and headed to the mountain complex. As Jack was driving, it was Harry that called ahead. He spoke to Sergeant Siler, and learned that Cassandra had become dangerously ill. They had asked for him in the hope that he could heal her.

They arrived at the base and headed straight to the infirmary. They had to be redirected though, as Cassandra had been moved to an isolation room. Janet was waiting for them outside.

"Oh, thank God that you're here. She isn't well at all."

"What's wrong with her exactly?" asked Harry.

"There's a retrovirus in her system, and she's running a very high fever. But that's not all; her body is generating an electromagnetic field. It's been affecting electrical systems, and she's begun to levitate objects."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Seriously?" He had never heard of a retrovirus having that kind of effect before.

Sam walked out of the room. "Sir, Harry, where've you been?"

"Carnival," answered Jack. "How's Cassandra?"

Sam sighed. "Not good, and she's not really herself right now. She thinks that what's happening is supposed to happen. Daniel, Teal'c, and I went back to P8X-987 and found Nirrti's lab there. It seems that this is all a part of some sort of long-term experiment. She's trying to make a more advanced host for herself. This happens every generation; Nirrti would study them when they became sick, cure them, and then let them back into the population to reproduce."

Harry nodded. That all seemed like the diabolical sort of thing a goa'uld would do. "I'll try to help her, but retroviruses are tricky, not all of them respond to a healing device. If this one doesn't, then I'm not sure what I could do. I would need time to craft a specific cure."

"Please Harry," said Doctor Frasier earnestly, "do what you can. Just don't expect her to be very happy to see you.

Harry walked in, the three adults following him. Cassandra was sitting up in bed, though she certainly looked sick enough to be lying down. She was concentrating on a chess piece that was spinning above her. He did not interrupt her, and she didn't acknowledge him, though he was certain she was aware of him. He studied her, sending out his force to sense what she was doing. After a minute, he spoke.

"It isn't the force." He addressed her. "Your body is generating the EM field all on its own." He looked at the monitors showing her vital signs. "You can't survive without treatment," he said. "Your body won't be able to handle it."

"You don't know that!" she snapped. "You're just a boy."

Harry mentally agreed with Sam's assessment of Cassandra, this wasn't quite the girl that he met at his welcoming party. "I know more about the human body than anyone on this planet, you know what has happened to me."

"But how do you know that this isn't supposed to happen? I can feel it, I'm going to be reborn."

"No, you won't. If you feel like that, then your body's lying to you. Believe me, you're supposed to live. You're going to go on dates with that boyfriend of yours, and then you'll go home, and your Mom will be there. Listen to me, please. How can you want more than that? That's a good life, so hold on to it. Please, tell me that you want to live, because you don't have any other options." He desperately wanted to save her.

Cassandra closed her eyes as tears came. She let the chess piece fall and nodded her head.

"Good," said Harry, "because I'm going to try and heal you now." He held his left hand out over her.

"What do you mean try?" she asked.

Harry looked up uncertainly, unsure of how to tell her. "I mean that I might not be able to affect the retrovirus."

"Oh," she said. "That's okay then. What ever happens…" She let the saying trail off.

"Cassie," said Janet, "we're going to get you through this, one way or another."

Cassandra nodded. "Thanks Mom," she said, her voice choking up. "For everything."

Harry cleared his throat, and gestured with the hand still hovering over Cassandra. "If we're ready?"

"Yes," said Janet. Cassandra nodded.

As he had with Jack, Harry pushed out his force through his extended hand and sent the healing energy into her body. It didn't take long for him to find out that there was nothing he could do. He shook his head, despair welling in him.

"The virus won't respond," he said, pulling back his energy.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" asked Janet.

"Nirrti would have had a device that targets this particular retrovirus. Without it, there's nothing I can do that you can't."

Sam spoke up. "Daniel did find a device in Nirrti's lab. It was a clear square crystal, with a few other colors inset. It was roughly one centimeter by one by five. I haven't had a chance to study it."

Harry nodded. "That could be it. Is it here?"

"It's in the next room," said Sam, "I'll go get it."

She left and returned with the device, before handing it to him. Harry studied it and nodded.

"Unless she was working with multiple viruses, this is what we need." He turned back to Cassandra and held out both hands. Once more, he unleashed his healing energy, while using the crystal to focus it on the retrovirus in her body. It was draining, but he managed to both eradicate the retrovirus, and heal the damage done.

Harry slumped, putting his weight on Cassandra's bed. "It's done," he said. "She's healed."

Sam and Janet rushed to Cassandra's side, while Jack moved to Harry.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Harry nodded. "Give me a couple seconds, I'll be fine. It's just the blood in my head."

"Here, sit down," said Jack, who led him to a chair. Sitting down, Harry felt his equilibrium return.

"If I were an adult," he said, "I could have done that easily. My mind isn't developed enough yet to split my attention like that. Of course, it would have been easy if I had a real healing device."

"Oh, we have one of those," said Jack.

Harry stared at him incredulously. "No one thought that I would find that useful?" He grew abashed then for the tone of his voice, he couldn't talk like that to Jack. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

Jack interrupted him, ruffling his hair. "You're right, we should have remembered that. How's the head?"

Harry, his cheeks still red, put a hand to his head. "It's okay. My system just had to catch up with me."

"Okay," said Jack. He looked over at the three women. "Cassie," he said, "how are you feeling?"

"Good," she said. "Good and tired. I can't move the chess piece anymore."

"You're back to normal," said Harry with a smile.

"Well," said Jack, "you rest up, I'm going to take this guy to get something with sugar in it." Harry perked up.

Janet returned to doctor mode. "How are _you_ feeling, Harry. You were light headed?" Before he knew it, the doctor was taking his pulse.

"I'm fine, really. Some juice would be nice right now."

"All right," she said. "And make sure you get at least eight hours of sleep tonight, more if you can."

"Harry," said Cassandra, "thanks."

Harry turned in surprise. In spite of everything, he was still surprised sometimes when people thanked him. He nodded in reply.

"Yeah, Harry," said Sam. "Thank you."

"Thank you, Harry," said Janet. "I can't express my gratitude enough."

Harry blushed brighter than before and mumbled, "You're welcome," before escaping the room with Jack.

The commissary was empty when they got there, but for two technicians eating pie.

Harry had an ice cream bar and some juice. They both decided to just stay on base for the night, not seeing the point in driving all the way home again. As Harry was eating, Jack said to him, "I'm proud of you, Harry. You saved Cassie's life tonight."

Harry frowned. "Why? I really didn't do much." At Jack's incredulous look he rushed on. "I mean, I know that it's great that I saved her, but I just walked in, did my thing, and walked out again. What's there to be proud of?"

Jack considered him. "Harry, you may have your powers, and the knowledge of the goa'uld, but I've never met a nine-year-old that could keep his cool in the face of everything you've had to deal with. There was a life in your hands, and you saved it, so yes, I'm proud of you."

"Oh, okay." The warm glow he felt was hard to identify, but it did feel good.

Jack walked Harry to his room, and left so that Harry could get some sleep. All in all, Harry thought, it had been a good day.

!!!!!

Nirrti had been alerted when the humans had invaded her lab, and followed them through the Chapa'ai using her invisibility device. Her interest in the girl had faded though once she heard of the host Harry. It must have been the Tok'ra that had freed him; these humans didn't have the technology. From everything she had overheard, he was everything she had tried to create. She had already perused the woman scientist's files on the boy's abilities, and the information was phenomenal.

While neither of her two previous hosts had been male, she was willing to make the change. With only one subject, she couldn't risk anything happening to him; she didn't even know if his abilities would breed true. She had become a System Lord by taking risks; sometimes they backfired, as they had the last time she had been to this cursed planet. She knew taking the boy was rash, but he was exactly what she needed in order to reclaim her position as a System Lord.

Knowing that the former host might sense her, she kept her distance from him. She followed the boy, her invisibility device keeping her hidden. After eating, he went to a room, and parted from his guardian. Soon, it would be time to strike. Allowing the man to pass, she waited outside the sleeping quarters, waiting for the boy to go to sleep. She was patient, and stood silently for an hour. Having heard nothing from the room for some time, she felt secure in entering.

The room was utilitarian, with few personal objects. The boy was asleep in the large bed opposite the door. She approached him and deactivated her invisibility device, letting her body silently shimmer into sight. Her host's consciousness had long ago withered to near nothingness, so she had no fear of her current body running off in case something went wrong.

Silently, she hovered over the boy, and exited her host through the mouth. In a second, she had wormed her way through the side of the boy's neck; it was her neck now. She quickly positioned herself and took control. As expected, her former body had fallen besides the bed and did not move.

She began to go through her hosts memories, beginning with his initial capture. Amazing, she thought, Osiris and Isis alive again. Well, Osiris perhaps, Isis was obviously dead now; the Tok'ra showed no mercy. She skimmed through the journey to Calaissis, but she stopped abruptly at the memory of how her host had been freed from Isis. A voice that had been unusually silent spoke up.

'You didn't really think this one through, did you?'

Then, all she knew was pain.

!!!!!

Harry had panicked at first, when he had first discovered the intruder in his mind. But he calmed himself; he knew that he could expel the being. He bade his time, gathered his strength, and waited for the opportune moment, and there it was when the demon within him realized how Isis had met his fate. He couldn't help but taunt her. And then he struck, using all of his might to regain control of his body.

Nirrti fought back, but Harry was stronger. First, the connection between the two minds opened, and information flooded his brain. Then began Nirrti's inexorable ejection from his body. Rather than leaving the way she had come in, Nirrti was forced through the back of his neck. Harry had to sit up to facilitate her exit.

Though she must have been in considerable pain, Nirrti wasted no time in reclaiming her host's body. It did her no good though, as Harry manipulated the force to pin her to the wall. Though he wanted nothing more than to lie back down and sleep for a week, Harry got off of his bed, still maintaining his concentration on Nirrti, and hit the alarm button on the wall by the door. He slumped next to the bookcase, still forced to maintain his hold on Nirrti, as he hadn't the strength to tie off the energy. Through all of this, she remained silent.

A few seconds later, two SFs ran through the door and quickly took in the situation. They both pointed their weapons at Nirrti, and Harry gratefully released her bonds. Slumping slightly, Nirrti wisely made no move to attack the two guards, even as one of them secured her. Seeing this, Harry gratefully ended his fight against exhaustion, and slipped into unconsciousness.

A/N: I am sorry for the delay in updating. Life, school, and grad-school applications rather hijacked my life. Hopefully, I'll be updating more frequently from here on out. Point of interest: some of my more recent writing has been written under the influence of a concussion.

As you all have probably noticed, I update both of my stories at the same time. For future reference, I was wondering if you would rather I update one during and future dry-spells, rather than waiting for both.

Please read and review!


	8. 07 Revolution

Disclaimer: I am neither JK Rowling, nor a scriptwriter for the Stargate franchise. I am but a lowly college student, and own nothing of these wonderful creations.

Revolution

Harry woke up Sunday afternoon with the usual headache. He groaned, his hand going to his forehead. It couldn't have helped that he was attacked so soon after he had healed Cassandra.

"There's got to be a better way to do that," he groaned.

Jack spoke up from next to his hospital bed. "You might try not downloading their brains."

Harry glanced at the man. "It's never been something I mean to do."

"Ah well then, we'll just have to keep you away from more goa'uld."

Harry snorted.

"Water?" Jack offered.

"Yeah," said Harry eagerly.

Harry felt a small measure of equilibrium return to him as he drank the proffered glass of water. He handed it back to Jack, who refilled it. Harry took a moment to take stock of himself.

"Was I restrained?" he asked, noticing some faint lines on his wrists.

"Sorry about that, Nirrti gave us the silent treatment. We had to be sure you were, well, you."

"I understand," he groaned again as the pain in his head spiked. "Mmmm, she was a scientist. An evil, diabolical, genius scientist."

"You're going to have all sorts of ideas that will go right over my head, aren't you."

Harry nodded. "What's happened to Nirrti?"

"Even when she started talking again, we didn't have much use for her here, so we shipped her off to Area 51 a couple hours ago. I'm not sure how much help she'll ever be, but hey, she's never going to be able start another one of her experiments."

Harry let out a weak, "Woo!"

"Good job on your part."

"Thanks. I'm going to go back to sleep now."

"Okay, Harry, I'll see you in the morning."

"Night." Harry closed his eyes, and was soon pulled back into unconsciousness.

!!!!!

He hadn't let on to Harry, but Jack was furious. That genocidal monster had been on the base, right under their noses, and then she had attacked Harry. How she had gotten past the standard TER sweep of the gate room, he didn't know. He had taken comfort from the security of the base, and Harry's ability to escape, and then Nirrti tried to take him in his sleep. Jack resolved to put greater security measures on Harry's room.

He walked into Sam's lab, meaning to speak with her, only to find it empty. Or, it seemed to be, as Sam appeared moments later in one of the corners out of nowhere. Jack started.

"Woah!"

"Sorry sir," said Sam sheepishly. "I just got Nirrti's device working."

Jack noticed the golden device that was wrapped around Sam's midriff. "Cool."

"I'm hoping that I'll be able to replicate this, maybe even mass produce it. I mean, just think of what we'd be able to do. We'd be able to-"

"Carter," Jack interrupted. "I do understand the strategic advantage of being invisible."

"Of course, sir. It's just exciting to have something this advanced to study. Can you imagine the engineering it took to make such a personal cloak?"

"I really can't."

"Right," said Sam, obviously wishing for a more scientifically inclined person to talk to. "So how's Harry?"

"Oh, you know, same old. He's got a headache, but that seems to be normal with the whole mind sucking… thing."

"I'm sure he'll be better soon, sir."

"Yeah, he should be. Now can you tell me how the hell Nirrti was able to get on base without us noticing?"

"I think so, sir. You see, while a TER just reveals everything invisible, we wanted to remove the human element from the picture, so that no one would have to see the Re'Tu for alarms to go off. The sensors we use don't reveal anything; they just detect the presence of something invisible. The problem is the way they work though; they-" she stopped and changed tracks, knowing that her superior wouldn't understand the why. "Anyway, you have to have a certain mass to be detected, and Nirrti, being nearly one eighth the mass of a Re'Tu, didn't show up."

"Well we should fix that."

"Oh, we already have people working on it. The sensors will hog a lot of power now, but they should pick up anything over fifty pounds. I know that it's still not perfect, but we won't get any more System Lords sneaking in."

"Former System Lord," he reminded her.

Sam smiled. "Yes, sir. I only wish I could have given her to the wrong end of a TER."

She wasn't the only one.

!!!!!

Jack drove Harry home that night, after Janet had cleared him to leave. She warned that he was to get plenty of rest. Jack was already planning to keep Harry from school, and take him to the SGC instead. He wondered how many kids had doctors and scientists as babysitters. It did seem pointless to take him home just for the night, but he was pretty sure that they would both sleep better at home.

Harry spoke up sleepily on the way home.

"Poor Jet, I bet he's been worried sick about us."

"Harry, he's not our dog. Jet's just … visiting."

"Hmph. Well, maybe we're his people."

Jack rolled his eyes. It was evident though that the stray wasn't going to be going anywhere, anytime soon.

Harry had been right; the large black dog had been all over them when they got out of the car. He jumped up on Harry, trying to lick the boy's face, and Jack had to admonish him.

"Down, boy. Harry needs his rest." He addressed Harry. "And he's going to go right to bed, and sleep all night."

"Okay," said Harry, "but I want to send an email to Sam first, 'cause she's working on that invisibility device."

Jack shook his head. "No emails, it can wait till morning. Besides, she's probably in bed already." She was probably still drooling over her new gizmo, but Harry didn't need to know that.

"Fine," said Harry, drawing the word out to express his displeasure. It seemed to Jack that Harry dropped his guard more when he was tired; as though he forgot that he was so very scared of screwing up.

He ruffled Harry's hair. "Come on, to bed with you."

!!!!!

The next day, Jack went off world with SG-1 to survey a new world, and as planned, Harry spent the day at the SGC. At Doctor Frasier's insistence, Harry was only allowed to spend half an hour at a time working with the scientists. This left Harry with half-hour intervals to read, play video games, eat, or nap. He refused to nap.

Harry spent a while working with Lee on the shield program, and later he worked with Doctor Holmes on Nirrti's invisibility device. Having created it, Nirrti had known quite a lot about it. Harry didn't think that the people of Earth quite had the technological ability to create their own invisibility devices, but he was certain that he could create the effect on his own. Knowing that Sam would prefer it, he decided that it would be prudent to carefully plan out such an endeavor. Off the top of his head, he could not think of anything that could go wrong with the process, but he also knew that for as clever as he was, he could still make mistakes.

With Doctor Grahm, Harry went on studying his abilities. He had a PET scan, an MRI, a full body scan, a CAT scan and various fluids sampled. While the tests were not always pleasant, Harry was even more excited than the doctor to go over the results. There was indeed a part of his brain, just above the amygdalae, that hadn't been seen before, and it flared up every time Harry used his abilities. Also in his brain, there seemed to be a gland, which secreted a chemical that they were having a hard time analyzing. They had isolated the chemical in his blood, and samples had already been sent to biologists and chemists at Area 51.

Harry again went home with Janet on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday, Jack and his team came back from their mission. With Sam back, and Harry deemed fit by Doctor Frasier, the pace of the study of Harry's abilities picked up. A long stream of emails passed between them, as they still felt the need to share ideas when they couldn't actually talk to each other. Initially, there had been a concern about Harry taking his laptop between home and the base, for obvious reasons. Harry though was able to create his own security features into the computer, making him the only person on the planet to be able to access the files on the hard drive.

It wasn't long before the group was able to come up with a conceptualization of what his energy was, and how he was able to manipulate it. The 'Force' was actually the energy of the vacuum, Sam called it zero-point energy; Jack still called it the Force. Harry was familiar with the concept, but it was theoretical even to the goa'uld. They had mastered sub-space and hyperspace, but they had yet to be able to manipulate the energy that was everywhere, in every layer of the universe. But Harry and the other researchers were able to observe it though, both as Harry manipulated it within himself, and as he manifested the energy externally. Sam called Harry a shortcut.

"It's like giving someone from ancient Rome a chemistry book and the recipe for gun powder. We could have gone millennia without making the connections we're making now."

They were already theorizing how to harness the energy without a biological conduit, and without frying the machine. Close to it's raw form, the zero-point energy ran havoc with electronic systems. Harry was confident though, that they could create a system. After that, the possibilities were endless.

Harry went back to school on Thursday, though he had felt ready to return much sooner. Everyone thought that he had been getting over the flu; Harry thought that the flu would have been easier on him. His teacher had been tech-savvy enough to email Harry's assignments to him, so Harry was able to rejoin his classmates as though he had never left. At recess, Harry's friends told him that they had missed him; it made him feel good. In spite of all of the exciting work he was doing at the SGC, Harry arranged with them to play Dungeons and Dragons again the next night.

!!!!!

It was only a little over a month after the initial study of the zero-point energy, and into the first week of spring, that they were able to create a crude device to harness it. The zero-point generator, as it had been dubbed, had taken thousands of man-hours, and the collaborative work of over two-dozen scientists, both at the SGC, and at Area 51, and from the Tok'ra. Sam was nearly manic with excitement; even the prim Doctor Grahm sported a small grin. A General from the Pentagon came accompanied by a Senator (Jack very obviously didn't like the man), as well as three Tok'ra scientists for the unveiling of the device. It was Sam who led the presentation in the conference room, overlooking the Stargate.

"As you all know, when we became acquainted with Harry here," she gestured to Harry, who was seated behind her. "We also became aware of his abilities, the likes of which we have never seen before. Telekinesis, healing, teleportation, invisibility, and even the ability to communicate with technology are all examples of the feats he can accomplish without any external aid. Because it is our belief that what can be done with biology, can also be done with technology, we set out to understand the power that he uses.

"With help from our Tok'ra allies, we discovered that a special region of Harry's brain, which we have called the Prometheus bridge, allows his body to act as a conduit for zero-point energy, that is, the energy of the vacuum, or the ground state of a quantum system. By studying Harry, and theorizing with him, we were able to replicate the feat his body miraculously accomplishes on its own. As you all know, it has been theorized by some of our own scientists that accessing zero-point energy would also unleash uncontrolled exotic particles; it does. However, Harry here can control them, either to neutralize them or utilize them, and because of this, so can we. Already, we have observed the tachyon, and other theorized particles, as well as some we can't even classify. Of course, this has opened up countless avenues of research, but for the purposes of this presentation," she gestured to the corner of the room, where their new creation stood, "I give you the Potter Generator."

Harry jerked in surprise in his seat behind Sam; he had never agreed to that name. Sam winked at him, and he crossed his arms in his seat while trying not to look like he was pouting. Jack ruffled Harry's hair from his chair adjacent to Harry.

The device was large and ungainly, looking like a bloated laser rifle; one cable tethered it to a laptop, and another to its power source. Sam had taken the last week off from her other duties to work on it, as had many of the other scientists. It hadn't been easy to replicate mechanically what Harry's body did all on it's own but they had managed. The Tok'ra had managed to synthesize the chemical that his body made, and it had been incorporated into the device. They still did not know exactly how it did what it did, but it was what made everything possible.

Before she could start the machine, one of the scientists stood up and cleared his throat.

"Before you begin the demonstration, I'd like to clear a couple of things up."

"Yes, Doctor McKay?" answered Sam.

"I've been going over your notes, and it seems that you don't actually understand this technology. I mean, you've just made a mechanical Xerox of this boy."

"That's about right," said Sam.

"And you aren't anywhere near being able to manipulate what it can do without first seeing him do it."

"Again, also accurate, Doctor."

"Okay," the man said, "just checking." He sat down.

Sam rolled her eyes, and at her prompting, Doctor Grahm and his assistant activated the device. There was a quiet hum as it started to work. A point of white light appeared at the nozzle of the device, indicating that the 'Potter Generator' was ready to work.

"Now, in its raw form, this energy will wreak havoc on any unprotected electronic device that's drawing power. However, when controlled, we can do this."

At this queue, Doctor Grahm put in a command on the laptop, and an apple, all ready placed within the machine's sights, began to levitate. There was polite applause.

"At the moment," Sam continued, "this is all that we've been able to do, however, we foresee being able to do much more. Right now, the possibilities are endless."

There was clapping again, louder this time, and Sam called for questions. A scientist Harry didn't recognize spoke up first.

"Can this be used for power generation?" asked the visiting scientist.

"At the moment, no. We are currently getting back less energy than we are putting in to it, but we do expect to be able to get past that. Also, we aren't sure how much energy we may be able to generate."

One of the generals asked, "What are the military applications."

As Sam was answering, Harry reached out with his power and pulled the apple into his outstretched hand. He started munching on it, tuning out the rest of the presentation. With the unveiling of the device (he was still a little embarrassed by the name), it was as though a weight he hadn't even noticed had been lifted. This accomplishment done, he could go back to being a kid again for a little while longer. He knew that he was unique, and lucky to be able to vacillate between being a kid and being a part of something amazing. He knew that the generator would really make a difference, that it would save lives, but tomorrow he would go to school and forget aliens and expectations, and he would play soccer at recess.

!!!!!

The next Monday was Martin Luther King Day, so he got the day off from school. He went with Jack to the SGC, with the promise of a ride to Andy's house later in the afternoon from one of the soldiers. Lee was making progress with the shield program, and Harry had a good time helping out. Jack left on his mission just before noon, and Harry was able to see him off outside the gate room.

"So, you're going to be trying to rescue Daniel's Unas friend, from strange people with staff weapons." Harry liked it better when Jack went on more routine missions.

"Something like that," replied Jack.

"Well…" Harry really didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry, I'll bring you back something nice."

Harry nodded. "I'm going to hug you now."

"All right then."

Harry put his arms around Jack and wished with all of his might for Jack to stay safe. Jack ruffled his hair and walked through the blast door. Harry watched as SG-1 walked through the gate; he waited until it turned off.

That afternoon, Harry and his friends all went to see X-Men. They had all been looking forward to it, though Tommy's mother almost hadn't let him go, because of the PG-13 rating. Harry had an ulterior motive for seeing the movie though: the mutant powers were giving him ideas.

At the same time though, the movie scared him. It wasn't the violence or the suspense; it was all of the people who hated the mutants. There was the senator who wanted to lock them all up, and all of the people who just hated all of them. He was just like the mutants in the movie; he had powers. Would normal people hate him if they found out? Would he disgust his friends if they found out what he was? The Dursleys had hated him. Sure, the people at the SGC liked him, but Harry couldn't help but think that they weren't exactly normal either.

He thought of what Steven had learned of psychology. There were in-groups, and there were out-groups. People like people in their in-group, and they're wary at best of people in an out-group. So the question was, did his having powers put him out of his friends' in-group.

After the movie, they all walked to Simon's house, because he lived closest to the theatre.

"Hey guys," he asked, "if there really were mutants, and I was one, would you still like me?"

"Who says we like you now?" asked Mat. Tony flicked his ear, and Mat grinned. "Hah, just kidding."

"We'd like you even if you were blue," said Philip.

"Like Mystique," crowed Andy.

"Heh," said Mat conspiratorially, "you just like her, 'cause she wasn't wearing any clothes."

This brought nervous giggles from the rest of the boys. Harry, the youngest in the group, blushed bright red. None of them were brave enough to carry on that thread of the discussion.

"Why wouldn't we like you if you were a mutant?" asked Tommy. "That would be awesome if you could do that sort of stuff."

"Well all those normal people hated the mutants," said Harry. "They were afraid, because the mutants were different and powerful."

"Yeah," said Simon, "but those people were stupid." This brought knowing nods from the others. "Even the Senator, I mean, he didn't even realize his aide had been replaced."

"Yeah," said Andy. "Besides, you should be friends with people who can throw cars, or suck the life out of you. Why would you want them to be mad at you?"

"It's something you'll understand when you're older," said Mat, who took to patronizing Harry at times.

Harry stuck his tongue out at him. He wished that the world were as simple as they thought it was. But still, at least they wouldn't turn their backs on him.

!!!!!

SG-1 returned to base late Tuesday night, after Harry had already gone to bed. They brought with them Daniel's Unas friend Chaka, and sent him back to his home world as soon as they could. No one came to wake Harry; Jack had decided to let him get his sleep. In the morning though, an SF came and asked him to eat breakfast in the conference room, as his presence had been requested for SG-1's debriefing.

Jack greeted Harry, and led him to the seat next to his own; there was a plate of food waiting for him. Jack and Sam stood when the General entered the room.

"I understand that your mission was a success, SG-1, so what could have been so important that you wanted to schedule a meeting this early?"

Sam answered. "We needed input from Harry on something that may be time sensitive, and he does need to get to school."

"I see," said the General. "Good morning, Harry."

"Good morning, sir."

"Now what was it that you wanted to discuss?"

"Well, sir," said Jack, "it seems that Harry here managed to put a shield around me."

"I did?" asked Harry.

"He did?" asked the General.

"Well it wasn't Danny here," replied Jack.

"I don't remember doing anything," said Harry.

"It could have been unconscious," said Sam. "I saw you hug the Colonel before the mission, you seemed worried."

Harry blushed. "I've never done something like that before."

"But you've told me that some of the things you do are instinctual. It stands to reason that it is at least possible to access zero-point energy without meaning to."

She had a point. "So what happened?"

Jack told the story. "The civilization we found has been using Unas as slaves for generations. They saw Chaka as new breeding stock. We asked to trade for him, but they wanted two new Unas in exchange. We couldn't deliver, so we decided to spring him that first night. Daniel and I went in and blew his cage, and a couple of his new friends, at his insistence. Unfortunately, the owner was ready for us, and tried to take us out with a Zat. Daniel went down, but a shield stopped two blasts from hitting me before I could take him out. Chaka dragged Daniel back to the tree line, but it was a while before we were able to get back to the gate. The shield took a shot from a staff before we got through."

The General nodded and turned to Sam. "Major, I take it you want to try to replicate this shield."

"That's right sir, if we could give every soldier this protection, it would give us a great advantage."

"Now that's what I like to hear in the morning. Do whatever you need to do to replicate this shield."

"Yes, sir," said Sam.

"Harry?" asked the General.

"I have time, sir. This should be interesting."

The General nodded. "Then let's get to it, people."

Harry, who had eaten through the meeting, got up to follow Jack and Sam to her lab. Before he left though, Jack gave a look to Daniel. Daniel nodded and stayed behind with Teal'c. On the way up to the lab, Harry stuck to Jack's side.

"So you were shot three times."

"Well," said Jack, "it seems like only the first time should count."

"Hmph."

"I'm alright, Harry. This sort of thing happens all the time."

Harry gave him a look. "That's not exactly comforting."

"You know that I can't make any promises, Harry. Just remember that we're all very good at what we do. I'm always going to do what I can to get back home to you.

"You better," Harry muttered.

"Oh, I see. There'll be consequences if I fall behind enemy lines."

"For them and you."

"I'll just have to be extra careful then."

Harry nodded.

In the lab, Harry started questioning them about the shield.

"Was it visible when it was hit."

"Yeah, it was sort of a bright yellow," said Jack.

"Until it was hit though, then it took on the color of the blast it was hit with," added Sam, who was scanning Jack with a Tok'ra device, left for just such a purpose.

"You mean it activated before he was hit, and was passive when everything was fine."

"If you say so," said Jack.

"That's what I figured," said Sam. "It's like the shield can perceive it's surroundings and activate only when needed."

"Did it activate when you were almost hit?"

"I don't know," said Jack. "There weren't any almost hits."

"Hm." Harry put out his hands, and sensed around Jack. "Yeah, I can feel it there. Now that is interesting."

"Do you think you could do it again?" asked Sam.

"I don't know," said Harry, keeping his senses probing the matrix of energy surrounding his guardian. "I'll study it a little longer, and think on it at school. Are you getting any readings?"

"Oh yeah. You're not the only one who'll be working on this today."

"So that's a maybe, then," said Jack.

"Yeah. That's a maybe," said Harry.

!!!!!

Daniel knew what it was that Jack had wanted him to stay behind for. It would be his job to let General Hammond know the consequences of their mission.

"General," he started, "it's important to note that our mission had further reaching consequences for the inhabitants of P3X-984 than may be immediately evident."

"What do you mean?" asked General Hammond.

"Chaka plans to lead a revolution on the planet," answered Teal'c, "with the hopes of gaining the freedom of all Unas."

"I was told that the Unas you rescued were sent to Chaka's planet."

"They were," answered Daniel, "but Chaka told me that he had become aware while the gate was being dialed. He believes that he can return to the planet. While he was a captive, he communicated with the Unas slaves, taught them about freedom. The two we rescued with him were already devoted to his cause."

"Their fight is just," said Teal'c.

"It may be just," said General Hammond, "but it's also going to be bloody. The two sides won't even be able to communicate with each other."

"I don't think that there's anything we can really do about it sir," said Daniel.

"There's not a damned thing we can do about it," said the General sternly.

"Some day, there could be something we could do."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Nothing in particular, General, I just don't want-"

"You don't want us to forget about this."

"No sir," Daniel said meekly.

"Very well. Do either of you have anything to add?"

"I do not," said Teal'c. Daniel shook his head.

"Then I expect your reports on my desk by two o'clock. Dismissed."

!!!!!

The next day, Jack wasn't sent off world. He and his team were sent to Sergeant Siler's house, when he called in to say he had been drugged in his home.

Jack knocked on the man's front door.

"It's open," called the sergeant. From the entryway, the man was visible in a chair in the living room, next to the phone. Sam rushed toward him with the paramedic that they had brought along. Siler started to stand as Jack entered the room.

"At ease, Sergeant."

"Thank you, sir." The paramedic was already taking his pulse.

"Why don't you tell me what happened."

Siler nodded. "I woke up this morning sir, and everything was normal. I poured myself a bowl of cereal, and, well, I think it was something in the milk. Everything went hazy, and I couldn't think straight. Then, this man walked in. I pulled my service piece, and I pointed it at him, sir. But he just shook his head, and he said it wouldn't work. It didn't."

"Was your weapon tampered with?" asked Teal'c.

"I don't know," said Siler. "I guess. But I keep it behind my head board."

Sam looked to the kitchen where the gun was on the table. She went and retrieved it.

"What did this guy look like?" asked Jack.

"I really can't picture him, sir. I've been trying. He had long black hair, and I remember thinking that he looked pretty unhealthy."

Jack nodded and asked. "What happened next?"

"I thought that I should check the gun, or find another weapon, but I couldn't think how. So this guy just sat down across from me and started asking questions. All that mattered was the truth sir, and telling him what he wanted to know. Once he started asking questions, it was all that I could think about."

"So you sang like a canary."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."

"It's understandable sergeant. This doesn't sound like sodium pentothal, though."

"It definitely wasn't, sir," said Siler. Sam looked at him in surprise. "It's a long story."

"What did he ask you?"

"My memories get really fuzzy where he starts asking questions. I remember, he started asking questions about Harry, sir."

"What?" Well hell. They had always known that the NID would probably try to get their hands on Harry; that they could handle. But who the hell was this man, and how were they going to keep him away from Harry?

"I don't know sir, I think he wanted to know what we wanted with him. After that, he asked about the Stargate program. I don't think he knew what it was."

"Then his interest in Harry probably has nothing to do with the program," said Daniel. "So what does that leave us with?"

"Some relative, or friend of the family," suggested Sam.

"This all seems a bit drastic for someone looking for a friend of the family."

"He cares for the boy, sir," said Siler definitively.

"What makes you say that?" asked Jack.

"He asked- he asked me what-" the man frowned, thinking hard on the memory. "He wanted to know what your intentions were towards Harry, sir. He had this look, like he'd be violent if I said the wrong thing. I remember, because it was the first time I was really afraid through the whole thing."

"I see."

"Sergeant," said Daniel. "You look like you could use some tea, or something."

He nodded. "Yeah, I've got some tea bags above the stove."

Daniel exited to the kitchen.

"That reminds me, sir," said the Sergeant. "He gave me something afterward. It's in the vial on the kitchen table. I still feel awful, but right away, I could think clearly again."

"I see, we'll look into that. Do you eat cereal every morning? Or milk?"

Siler shook his head. "The milk's for cereal, and I only eat cereal when I'm too tired to cook. The milk was even from a new bottle."

"We'll check everything else."

"Sir," said Sam. "This pistol should be working. The ammo might have been tampered with, but I don't think it has been."

Daniel walked back into the room. "This might seem strange, but it might not be the gun," he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Jack.

"The stove won't light, neither will his matches."

Jack furrowed his brow, getting what Daniel was driving at. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a lighter. It wasn't working either.

"There's no way he could have prevented combustion," said Sam.

Jack rubbed his forehead; this was getting complicated. "All right," he said. He pointed to the paramedic. "You, take the Sergeant back to the base. Sergeant," he picked up a notepad from the coffee table, "write down everything you remember. Carter, I want you to look into this whole fire thing. Do whatever you need to do to figure it out. Daniel, Teal'c, just, bag the whole kitchen. Take everything back to base, and get someone to dust this place." He began walking to the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Daniel.

"Broadmoore elementary," he said darkly.

!!!!!

Harry was surprised to find Jack waiting outside of his classroom when school let out that day. He ran up to the man.

"Hey Jack. What are you doing here? I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"No, you're not in trouble," Jack reassured him. He looked at Harry askance. "Should you be?"

"No. It's just that you're always busy on Wednesday."

"It's a matter of security. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

They walked to the car quietly. Harry knew better than to ask about such things while they were in public. Once Jack got the engine started, he gave Harry instructions.

"We don't know how much of a threat there is, Harry. I'm probably over reacting. I'll tell you everything, but right now, I want you to go to the SGC as soon as we're out of sight. Use your room. When you get there, I want you to go to the briefing room. Major Davis will be there to talk to you." Jack turned onto a narrow street. No one was out, and he stopped the car before nodding to Harry.

Harry nodded back, trying not to worry. "I'll see you there." He stood, his body still small enough that his head just didn't reach the ceiling of the truck, and raised his shield. Closing his eyes, he opened a marble sized hyperspace window directly in front of his center of gravity and shot through it.

Harry first appeared in a small lab in Area 51 that had initially been used when Harry had studied his hyperspace abilities. They had quickly realized that Harry couldn't stay in hyperspace for a short enough amount of time to enable him to travel fewer than 208 miles. That was why Harry had first appeared on that mountain when he had left the elevator, and it was why he had to go to Area 51 before he could go to the SGC, which was only seven miles from the school. Harry had also estimated that his outward range was close to 30,000,000 miles. It was not quite far enough to get to Mars at its closest, but he could easily get to the moon. He hoped to increase the range, though he didn't yet see any point in journeying to Earth's closest neighbor.

Harry did not wait, and immediately repeated the process. Less than a second later, he was in his room at the SGC. Following protocol, he first went to the phone and reported his presence on base. Afterward, he left his quarters, heading to the conference room. He still wondered what could have happened for Jack to pick him up personally, and to send him on alone to the base. Jack had said that he was just playing it safe, but what kind of a threat necessitated all of this?

Harry reached the briefing room, still managing to not let his imagination run wild. Major Davis was there waiting for him.

"Mr. Potter, it's nice to see you again."

Harry nodded. "You too, sir." He had met the Major before, on a few occasions. The man had made an appearance after the ordeal with Nirrti, and when Sam had revealed the zero-point generator.

The Major motioned for him to take a seat. "Do you know what's going on?"

"No, Jack had me come here right away. He said that there was some security concern."

"That's right. Something happened this morning that has called your own safety into question. A gate technician was drugged when he ate breakfast in his home today. The drug both incapacitated him, and acted as a kind of truth serum. Now the man doesn't remember much, but he does know that a man asked him questions about you."

"To what end?" Harry asked. "Do you think he wants to abduct me? Hurt me?"

"As I said, he didn't remember much of the questioning, but he does feel that the man all ready knew a lot about you. What he wanted to know, was what it was we want with you. He didn't seem to know much about the Stargate program. You should know that it is possible that this man cares for you in some way. He referred to you as his godson."

"Godson? Like, he's my godfather."

"He seems to believe so, anyway. Did your relatives ever mention such a relation?"

Harry shook his head. "They never said anything about that."

"Were you ever visited by friends of your parents? Maybe someone with long black hair?"

Harry shook his head again. "I didn't even know my father's name until I was six, and they never let anyone my parents knew drop by."

"I see," said the Major, obviously discomfited by the response. "We have already contacted your relatives, of course, and they had nothing to tell us. There is no mention of a godfather in any of your records. You see, we have been wondering why a relation would go to such extreme means, when legal channels are available."

Harry nodded, somewhat disturbed by the turn of events. If this man were his godfather, then where had he been for the last nine years? And why on Earth would he drug a gate technician for answers?

"There's nothing I can think to tell you," he said.

"That's okay. There is more, but I'll let SG-1 talk to you about the rest. They should all be here soon."

"Okay. Um, thanks for talking to me."

"You're welcome, and you were helpful. We all want to figure this out."

!!!!!

Harry wound up spending the time waiting for Jack and his team playing video games in his quarters. He thought that he rather deserved the break, as short as it was. He spent much of the time lost in thought though about what all that he had learned could mean.

Jack got there twenty minutes later with the rest of his team. They all took seats around the room.

"Harry," Sam started the conversation, "did Major Davis mention the oddities surrounding what happened this morning?"

"You mean about how the guy might be my godfather?"

"No, I mean your kind of oddities. Until a couple of hours ago, combustion was impossible in and around the sergeant's house. Also, the drug used was saturated with controlled exotic particles."

"So this guy, he's like me?"

"It looks like it," said Jack. "And well, Danny here had an odd theory about this."

Daniel glared at Jack, obviously not wanting to be the one to say whatever it was. Since Daniel seemed to be at a loss for words, Teal'c said it for him.

"It is possible that your father was an alien to this planet."

Harry hadn't expected that. "You think I'm an alien?" Would they be okay with that?

"Well no," said Jack, "you were born on Earth. That makes you a native."

Sam explained it. "It's just that, well, to start with, your father doesn't seem to have existed until he married your mother. Maybe he had been forced to change his identity for some relatively normal reason, but there is also the fact that the person who drugged the sergeant seems to have a very intimate understanding of zero-point energy, beyond what you have accomplished with all of your vast understanding of science. Daniel thinks that this points to there being some manner of culture that has your abilities, and well, there's no evidence of such a thing on Earth."

"It also explains why this man is hiding in the shadows like this," said Daniel.

"And you're okay with that?" Harry asked Jack.

"It wouldn't really change anything. If it is true, you'd still be you."

"Yeah," said Harry, not letting his relief show. "What about legally?"

"US and British law aren't specific enough to discount your citizenship based on alien paternity," said Daniel. "Your mother was definitely a British citizen, and you were born in the US. Since you're definitely human, all those laws still apply to you."

"Okay," said Harry. "It's weird, but I could be okay with that. You are discounting some other possibilities." Somehow, he thought his school friends might just be supportive of a possible alien father; they'd probably think it was cool.

"Not discounting them, necessarily," said Daniel. "We just think that this could be the most likely. Everything else just seems outlandish, necessitating a fairly large conspiracy."

"Well," said Harry, "my ship hasn't picked any ships in the area, but the moon is something of a blind spot, as is the Earth. If someone came out of hyperspace on the other side of the planet, I wouldn't be able to detect it." He looked at Sam. "Are your guys still ready to get a look at the ship this weekend?"

Sam nodded. "Flinn's been emailing me every day about the artificial gravity. He's like a little kid waiting for Christmas."

Jack rolled his eyes, and Harry thought that Sam's comment was quite like some of Jack's.

"So what does this mean for me?" asked Harry, thinking of Jack sending him straight to the safety of the SGC. "Do you think he wants to take me?"

"It doesn't look like that's necessarily his goal," said Daniel.

"We don't know that, though," said Jack.

"Siler doesn't remember much," said Daniel, "but from what he does recall, it sounds more like this guy is checking up on you, not planning an assault."

"Look," said Jack. "For now, I'd like to assume the worst. We'll stay on base for a while, make sure nothing else happens."

"What about school?" asked Harry. "I already missed a week after the thing with Nirrti."

Jack sighed. "Fine. You can go to school, but straight back here. And keep your guard up."

Harry scowled, not liking the sound of that, but all he said was, "Fine."

"We'll be all right, Harry."

"What about Jet?"

"Jet's still not our dog, and he can take care of himself."

"He'll still miss us."

"He'll get along."

Harry sighed and changed the subject. "How is the sergeant, anyway?"

"He's all right," said Sam. "He was mostly just dehydrated. Janet just wants to keep him for observation."

"That's good," said Harry, feeling a little guilty about the man getting involved in the whole thing.

"Do you want to come to my lab?" asked Sam. "I'm going to be analyzing that drug."

"Nah," said Harry, frustrated. "I'm going to the gym. It looks like I'll have all sorts of time for that later. After all, I am living here now." He left the room.

Harry's thoughts outside in the corridor were tumultuous. He felt bad immediately for snapping at Jack and the rest. He knew that it wasn't really their fault. But still, it was a lot to take in. An alien father? Or maybe there really were more people like him on Earth. The thought made him smile. He could have a community of people that would make him a little more normal. There could be one less secret to keep. It worried him though. Were people afraid of the mutants' powers, or their numbers, hidden amongst them?

!!!!!

A/N: Sam answered. "We needed input from Harry on something that may be time sensitive, and he does need to get to school."

I felt somewhat ridiculous writing that.

If I haven't said it before, I apologize to all physicists who probably cringe whenever I screw with science. Of course, we always have to invest a fair amount of suspension of disbelief when we read science fiction and fantasy. Please review; it makes me feel ever so good.


	9. 08 Fall

Disclaimer: My level of ownership of these two universes is so low, that JK Rowling and MGM could get together and produce Isis' Bane without even crediting me.

Fall

The Saturday following the incident with Sergeant Siler, Harry called his ship out from behind the moon for a brief moment to shoot himself and a group of scientists aboard. He could have gone through the moon using hyperspace, but he didn't think that he could manage all of the scientists and their equipment through hyperspace. Harry addressed the scientists as they materialized inside the command room.

"Okay, you can set up most of your stuff up in here, but if things get cramped you can move into the living area. And I want you all to remember," here he raised his voice to make sure the excited scientists were listening, "don't do anything you haven't cleared with me."

Harry really didn't like feeling like a babysitter for the group, but some of them were acting worse than Andy in a video game store.

"Don't worry Harry," said Sam, "they're all professionals."

"Doctor Grant wanted to take apart the hyperdrive to see if he could put it back together again," Harry reminded her.

Sam smiled. "He likes to tell the story of how he took apart his father's motor cycle engine when he was five, and put it back together better than before."

"Well my engine is working just fine."

Doctor Lee popped his head in the room. "Harry, are we going to map those power relays or not?" he asked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Why you can't just use the schematics I drew is beyond me."

Hours later, Harry was 'resting his eyes' in the living area. It was the middle of the night in Colorado Springs, and he was still a growing boy. He was startled awake when Sam sat down in one of the chairs.

"Sorry Harry," said Sam. "I forgot how light a sleeper you are."

Harry shrugged. "I was just resting for a minute. Hm, I smell coffee coming from out there."

"Yes Harry," Sam replied. "We also brought a large supply of hot chocolate."

Harry smirked. Base personnel at the SGC all knew not to give Harry coffee, and boxes of Swiss Miss had sprung up next to the various coffee machines. It was all Doctor Frasier's fault; she was convinced that it would stunt his growth.

"So you've been keeping an eye on everyone, right? No one's doing anything crazy?"

"I'm keeping them on a tight leash. I pointed out that you're their only ticket off this ship if they break it."

"Good. I just hope Doctor Flinn remembers that he's only allowed to play with the gravity in the cargo area."

"Don't worry Harry, Flinn has a weak stomach. He'd never be able to take zero-G himself."

"Thank goodness."

"So I hear that the big day is coming up with Captain Mallard."

"It's more like it's looming," said Harry gloomily.

"You're worried then?" asked Sam.

Harry shrugged. "What if she thinks that she's found something better?"

"I don't know what she could have figured between then and now," she said.

"I really need this Sam, a lot. Not every day, but Jack makes things better. I don't know where I'd be without him."

"Harry, Jack will be there for you regardless of what ends up happening. Same for me, actually."

"Thanks," said Harry. The room's lights went out suddenly, and the two of them sat in the dark for a moment. "Oh for crying out loud!"

!!!!!

"So, what do you want to do when you grow up?" Andy directed the question to Simon during recess.

"I'm gonna be a fire fighter," Simon answered. "It's the coolest job there is, and you don't have to worry about stuff like paperwork."

Harry doubted that any job was without paperwork, seeing as how much Jack had to do to go around shooting at things, but he kept his silence on the subject.

He and Jack had gone back home after a week on the base, but Harry had managed to go to school during that time. All that his friends had known was that he had not been able to hang out after school for a while. Harry had grown quite sick of the base in that time, and now that he was free, he took every opportunity to spend time with his friends in the evenings while Jack was off world.

"A fire fighter?" said Mat loudly from his position on the playground swing. "Only kids want to be fire fighters."

"Nu'uh," said Simon. "My cousin's being trained to be one, and he's twenty."

"What do you want to be?" Tommy asked Mat.

"I'm going to be one of those really expensive lawyers. Every Carver man's been a lawyer, since my great grandpa, and I'm going to be the best."

"But you hate studying," said Harry.

"There's more to being a lawyer than studying, Harry. It's all about talking to people, and making them believe you. I've talked myself out of five detentions."

"Yeah," said Simon, "and how many haven't you talked yourself out of?"

"That's not important," said Mat. "I bet you haven't gotten out of even one."

"I've only ever had one detention," said Simon, "and it was the one you got us into."

"And I would have gotten us out of it, if you had kept your mouth shut."

"What do you want to be, Harry?" Tommy was good at changing the subject.

"I guess a scientist," Harry answered. A scientist that flies around the galaxy fighting the goa'uld.

"You could cure the cold then," said Andy.

"Cure the cold?" asked an outraged Mat. "Is that what you would wish on poor Philip: to be here at school, instead of on his couch watching television? Why not just abolish the sick day all together while we're at it?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh at that one. Heaven forbid that medical science should advance at the expense of the sick day.

"I think I'd kiss him if he found a cure for the chicken pox," said Simon, who had been out of school for a week last month with the affliction.

"Didn't he tell you?" asked Andy. "He found the cure a few days ago."

"No kisses," said Harry quickly. Simon blew one in his direction, and Harry made a show of warding it off.

"What are you going to be, Tommy?" asked Andy.

Tommy gave a small shrug. "My dad says we're going to run his business together when I'm old enough."

"So you wanna sell tiles," Andy clarified. Tommy shrugged as the bell rang to usher them back to class.

"So Harry," Tommy said, "what are you going to be doing while we're all struggling to pass the math test?"

"Drawing, I guess," he answered.

"Didn't she put bonus questions on your last test?" asked Tommy.

"Yeah," said Harry, "but they weren't hard." Harry thought that she had gone beyond her own abilities with the calculus question, but it hadn't given him any pause.

"That's Harry," said Mat, "our little genius."

"What does that make you," asked Andy, "our abnormally sized joker?"

!!!!!

Sirius did not like feeling like a cat. For the most part he slept during the day, because at night, he stood guard over his charge. Dogs do not do nocturnal, but Padfoot was willing to make an exception. Every night he lay at the foot of his godson's bed, because Harry was not safe. After questioning that Air Force Sergeant the month prior he really had more questions than answers, but the answers that he did have made him watch vigilantly. He had to protect his godson from rogue government agents and aliens to boot. Thus, because he was awake, his keen ears picked up the sound of people approaching the house on the soggy ground.

Padfoot gently jumped down from the bed and padded to the open door. He transformed into Sirius in the relative privacy of the hallway. As silently as he could, Sirius apparated onto the roof. He turned around, trying to spot the people approaching. But the shadows of twilight obscured the area. He transformed once again into Padfoot and examined his surroundings once again. While a dog's eyes were inferior in many ways to a human's, they were quite keen on detecting movement in low light areas. There. There. There. And there. Four groups of two were approaching the home perpendicular to each other. It was like they were trying to make it easy for him.

Transforming once again, Sirius pulled out his black-market wand and kept turning, keeping track of the four groups. He knew what he wanted to do with them, but what spell would he use? After a quick debate, he settled on one. He fired off four spells, sending four silver javelins at the four groups. Just before impact, they rapidly unfolded into nets, pinning their targets to the ground. It had been nice of them to stick so closely together. The spell was beyond NEWT level, something that he had picked up during his Auror training. It was favored for capturing wandless opponents in certain situations.

Sirius apparated to the ground next to one couple. He stunned both and levitated them over to the next couple. He repeated the process in turn until he had all of the men in a group. A series of Accios disarmed the group. They were armed with strange guns, loaded with fuzzy red darts, and pistols. Sirius considered the group before picking one of them at random. He pulled out his small vial of Veritaserum and dosed the man before Enervating him. The man's eyes rolled around, completely disorganized. Sirius asked his first question.

"What's your name?"

"Niel Marks," answered the man dully.

"And what exactly are you doing here Niel?" The strain in his voice was testament to his warring emotions.

"I am here to abduct the boy using stealth."

Sirius scowled and briefly resisted the urge to kick Marks, before giving in to it anyway. The man didn't even think of Harry by his name. For a moment, the pain started to bring Marks out his trance, but Sirius asked his next question.

"Tell me, what were you going to do with Harry once you got him?"

"I was going to take him to a safe house."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Yes, but what was to be done with him there?"

"They were going to wait until it was safe to move him to the facility in Oregon."

Sirius considered his next question, frustrated by how long this was taking. "What do your people want with him?"

"We want to study what he knows about goa'uld technology, and to study his biology."

But that didn't make any sense. If these people knew about Harry, wouldn't they know that his abilities made it almost impossible to contain him? "How would you stop him from escaping?"

"We would keep him sedated until we could implant a device into his brain. Should he try to harm us, escape, or try to tamper with the device, it would kill him."

Sirius didn't attempt to restrain himself this time; he even included Marks' friends. Knowing that he couldn't afford a manhunt in America, he stopped himself from doing any real damage. He Stupefied Marks again and levitated the group and their weapons back onto the porch. A look at his watch caused him to curse. He was pants at concealing magical signatures, otherwise he would have warded the area long ago. The American government would come here soon. He cast a memory charm on Marks before Apparating into Jack's room. He cast a silencing spell on the room so as to not wake Harry. A quick sticking spell immobilized the man, and woke him up. Jack tried to sit up, but his bed linens kept him in place.

"What the Hell?!" shouted Jack.

"O'Neill," said Sirius, "I don't have time to waste, so listen up."

"You," said Jack accusingly.

"Eight men just tried to break into this house to abduct Harry. They're unconscious on your porch. I've fed truth serum to one of them. That's not why I've woken you though. People are about to come, but they aren't what they seem to be. They may look like cops, or government officials, you need to play dumb so that they don't figure out who Harry is; let them make their own assumptions about what happened here. Don't try to fight them."

Jack looked at him shrewdly. "And who exactly is Harry to them?"

"He's the boy they left at the Dursleys," said Sirius snappishly. He canceled the charms and disapparated, appearing at the to the top of mount Whitney. Tracking apparitions was a very inexact science, and it was harder to do when dealing with severe changes in altitude. From there, he disappeared to one of the United States' larger wizarding communities. He needed a stiff drink after all of that.

!!!!!

Jack rushed to Harry's room as soon as he was able to. Having heard Jack's approach, Harry was already awake.

"What's going on?" he asked Jack.

"Long story," said Jack. "No time for it now. Go to the SGC, I'll be all right. Tell them I want backup and a prisoner transport."

"If you're going to need backup…" started Harry.

"Now," said Jack in a voice that brooked no argument.

Harry huffed, "All right." He disappeared, and Jack breathed a sigh of relief. After Harry left, Jack went back to his room to dress in more appropriate clothes. Soon, there was a knock on his door.

Jack checked his pistol before tucking it behind himself in his waste band. He went to the door. "Who is it?" he called out.

"US Marshals," came the reply. "There's been an incident, and we need to speak with you."

!!!!!

"Anderson, report," said Third Captain Jefferies. He was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. This was not the first time that his wife was due with a child, but being on call while his wife was making two AM demands for cheddar brownies sucked no matter how many times he had been through it.

"Yes, Sir," answered Lieutenant Anderson, his wet-behind-the-ears partner. "Um, the logs show a sudden flare up of wanded magical activity at 12 Adams Drive, Colorado Springs. The residence belongs to Jack O'Neill, a Colonel in the US Air Force. He's descended from a line of squibs back three generations. He has had no documented activity in the magical world, and our records don't show him as living with anyone else."

"Tell me about the incident."

"Spell use indicates only one person, firing non-harmful spells out in four directions from the rooftop. The subjects of this attack, it seems, were all grouped together after that. A few charms followed, and what we think was a memory charm. There were a number of apparitions, presumably by the same person; we haven't been able to map them very well. We can't be certain, but we do believe that there was at least one spell cast inside the house, before the person left. The guys in Tracking couldn't follow it."

"He knew what he was doing then."

"Sir, what do you think…"

"No assumptions. Not yet. Are you ready?"

"Yes, sir. What are we going as?"

"Marshals," answered Jefferies. As Marshals, they could bow out should local law enforcement interrupt them. He went to his desk and pulled out two US Marshal badges. He tossed one to Anderson. The boy affixed it to his uniform, which rippled to take the form of a Marshal uniform; he grimaced at the uncomfortable muggle clothing. Jefferies' own detective badge hung over his lapel pocket, and his robes changed into a cheap suit, covered by a trench coat.

"Location?" he asked Anderson.

Anderson handed him a small slip of paper with the numbered coordinates. Jeffries nodded and resisted the urge to close his eyes before apparating away. The ground beneath him suddenly became soggy, and he saw a moderately sized home in front of him. Of course, the pile of bodies immediately took his attention. Anderson appeared next to him as he was casting detection spells.

"The area's clear," he told Anderson, "no wands or latent spells. And I want a faster Apparation out of you next time." He gestured for his partner to follow him to the porch. He ran a quick scan over the bodies and frowned. 'Veritaserum,' he wondered. He took a moment to take in the rest of the porch before enervating the one muggle.

He addressed his partner first. "Start on the memory charms." He turned to the man. "Are you magical?" the obvious first question.

"No," the man replied dully, obviously under the effects of the potion.

"Are any of your companions magical?"

"No."

"Do you have any knowledge of the magical world?"

"No."

That would probably make things much simpler for him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to abduct the boy."

"What boy?"

"The boy that is sleeping here."

"And what was your end goal for the boy?"

"We wished to study his physiology. We did not know if we would keep him alive."

Jefferies sneered. "Disgusting son of a –"

"Sir," interrupted Anderson, "there's movement in the house."

Jefferies scowled and stupefied the man again, before casting another memory charm. He vanished the obviously less-than-normal bindings from the pile of men.

"Lieutenant, do you have any dandelion juice?"

"No sir," his partner replied.

Thinking quickly, Jeffries picked the drugged man up by his lapel and punched him hard across the side of his head.

"Sir?" asked Anderson, wide eyed.

"They'll mistake the effects for a concussion. If he manages to confess everything, then so much the better." A quick flick of his wand vanished the last few minutes of the man's memory. He gestured to the door. "Knock," he commanded.

Anderson knocked on the door, and a few moments later, a voice called out, "Who is it?"

"US Marshals," Jeffries answered. "There's been an incident, and we need to speak to you."

The door opened, and they were confronted by a middle-aged man who looked like he had just gotten out of bed.

"Colonel Jack O'Neill, two 'L's. I heard the commotion and called into my base. Back-up is on its way."

"That's good," replied Jeffries. "This really isn't in our jurisdiction anyway. We were parked, eating a late dinner on the road down there," he gestured towards the woods, "when we heard the commotion. We decided to come investigate."

"Right. Can you tell me what the hell is going on?" The man was looking at the men piled on his porch.

"As best as we can tell," answered Jefferies, "these men approached your house for nefarious purposes, and were assaulted by a person unknown."

The Colonel looked at him skeptically.

"One of them woke up," supplied Anderson. "We think he's concussed, he's pretty loose lipped."

Jefferies almost rolled his eyes. It was a rookie mistake, if not a big one: people were more easily deceived when they were allowed to figure things out for themselves. "Is there a child that lives here?"

"No," the Colonel answered guardedly. "Why?"

"We believe that these men were here to abduct a child."

The Colonel's eyes flashed, and he paused before answering. "My godson was supposed to sleep over tonight. His parents were going to go out, but he came down with a stomach flu, and they all stayed home."

"Is there anything special about this boy?"

"Of course there is," the Colonel answered. "He's my godson." Jefferies resisted the urge to roll his eyes; everyone thought that their kid was special. "They probably wanted leverage against me. I have a very important job."

"Er," said Anderson, "the man seemed to be interested in the boy for his own sake, not for his relationship to you." Jefferies nodded to himself at Anderson's tact. The less said about experimentation, the better.

"Well," said the Colonel slowly. "He's been getting strait 'A's in school for a while. He's really smart."

"I see," said Jefferies. "Well, that is something that local law enforcement is going to have to look into, though you should probably talk to the boy's parents yourself, before them."

"Yeah," said the Colonel. "You're probably right." He looked down at the pile of men. "They were very stupid," he said. "They should have known that I would have killed each and every one of them, if they had harmed my godson."

Jefferies sighed internally, wishing that the man hadn't said that. He had been planning on leaving before the locals showed up, but perhaps that wasn't a very good idea. "Anderson," he said, "give the area a once over, I'll stay with the Colonel." That translated into: look for other signs of magic in the area. He thought he had a good picture of what had happened, but he wanted to be sure.

"Yes, sir," replied Anderson.

As his partner walked off to search the perimeter, Jefferies noticed the headlights of two trucks approaching. As they drew nearer, he was able to discern the distinct military design. He subtly reached into one of his pants pockets and slipped a notice-me-not ring onto his finger. If he remembered his training, Anderson would put his own on as well. With them on, they would be able to pass the torch of this investigation off to the muggles without being more than a blip on their radar. They would be done here soon.

The two military trucks pulled up to a stop, and a number of men jumped out of one. They were obviously prepared for a battle, should one occur. The soldiers arranged themselves in front of Jefferies and the colonel, and the one who was likely in charge saluted the Colonel, who saluted back.

"Sir, what is the situation?"

"We apparently have eight hostiles that were assaulted by an unknown force, and left on my porch. That's about it."

Jefferies was standing right next to him, but the Colonel paid him no mind, and neither did the soldiers below.

"All right," said the soldier's leader, "I want the area searched. If there's anyone out there, I want them found. Mark out any signs of activity you find out there. We'll get back to them in the morning. Mires, stay with the Colonel, and check on the suspects."

Jefferies butted in, drawing attention to himself. "My partner is out there, doing the same thing. Do try not to shoot him."

Without acknowledging Jefferies, the man relayed the order to his men and the soldiers fanned out, searching the fields that surrounded the house. Jefferies took the opportunity to leave. He jogged to reach Anderson's position.

"Time to go," he told his partner. "Did you put on your notice-me-not ring?"

"Yeah. As soon as I saw the automobiles," Anderson answered.

"Right then. We'll apparate as soon as we reach the tree line."

"All right. But I did find something."

"Accidental magic?" Jefferies asked, thinking of the boy.

"It's hard to say, sir. I've never quite seen these readings before."

"Well, our earlier scan for wizards was negative, and O'Neill is the end of his squib line."

"Yes sir. Shall I file it with the anomalous magic committee?"

"You know the regulations. Not that anything has ever come out of that money drain."

!!!!!

Duck. Dodge. Jump and kick! The airman went sprawling, clutching his abdomen, but he got right back up again. The man threw a punch at Harry, but Harry stepped back and pulled the overbalanced man by the arm down to the ground. Keeping his grip, Harry stepped around the man and pinned the man's arm against his back.

"Do you yield?" Harry asked.

The man tried to push himself up with his free arm, bringing his leg up as he did. Harry twisted the man's wrist, and he promptly collapsed to the ground again.

"Alright," said the Airman, whose name Harry had not learned. "I yield."

Harry dropped the wrist and stood back. "Whose next?" he asked, looking around the gym room, where a number of men stood watching around the mat.

"I'm not sparring with you when you're angry," said one of them.

"I'm not angry," Harry snapped. "And he isn't even bruised," he pointed to the Airman.

"A little bruised," the man put in.

"Aw, come on," Harry practically commanded.

"How about some ice cream?" called a voice from the doorway. Harry looked up and saw Captain Casey.

"I, uh-"

"Come on," she said, inclining her head towards the hallway. "Let's get some ice cream."

"Okay," said Harry in defeat, quickly pulling off the various protective pads that he was wearing. They walked out together.

"You're still barefoot," she commented.

Harry shrugged. "I came in a hurry."

"What are you doing here right now?"

"Jack sent me. He said that there was a situation, and I was supposed to send backup."

"Do you know what's going on?"

Harry shook his head. "He said he'd be all right."

"Well then, I'm sure he's all right."

"Yeah, or he's lying in a pool of his own blood, and I'm on my way to get ice cream."

"You have a vivid imagination," the psychologist said.

"That's what my teacher says," said Harry.

"Well, what you said, it's always true."

"What?"

"About getting ice cream. You said it yourself to Captain Mallard: anything can happen to anyone at any time. It's not something that a child your age would usually realize, but it's true. We all live our lives one hypothetical moment away from terrible news, but we still live our lives."

"Yeah, but I know that something could be happening right now. And don't say that he said he'd be all right. He wanted me to come here, he'd of probably said anything."

"It's okay to be prepared for the worst, but you can't fall into a funk every time the Colonel gets into a spot of trouble. Considering the man, it wouldn't be very healthy at all."

"Well I was sparring."

"That's a great way to relieve stress, Harry," she said. Harry nodded. "But it's not very helpful when you're angry and upset."

Harry looked at her askance. "It sure felt good."

"Are you any less angry and upset?"

"Humph."

"You could always try thinking positive thoughts."

"Like what?" Harry asked.

"Well, I am partial to ice cream."

They were seated in front of bowls of cookie-dough ice cream when Captain Casey spoke up again. "It's three more days until Captain Mallard makes her decision. Do you know what you're going to say to her?"

Harry looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean: 'Do I know what I'm going to say to her?' Nothing's changed" Seeing her look, he added. "Nothing important, anyway."

"I suppose so," said the Captain with a smile.

!!!!!

It was times like these that Jack thought about just packing up and taking Harry to Canada. It would be easy for him to change their identities and fade into the background. Unfortunately, keeping Harry safe also meant keeping the planet safe. So Jack and Harry both had to keep on doing what they were doing.

The eight assailants were checked out by paramedics before they were transported back to base. All of them were still unconscious, and most were injured, but only one of them was sent to the infirmary.

"He received a couple of blows to the chest and abdomen, as well as a nasty blow to the face," said Janet to Jack and the General. "That's not the most interesting thing though. I found traces in his blood of the same chemicals that were found in Sergeant Siler when he was drugged."

"So, he can only tell the truth," said Jack. That certainly made things easier. It had been proposed that they use the drug that they had recovered from the Sergeant's house, but the substance had not been tested enough to be cleared for use on prisoners.

"Hypothetically," said Janet, "but I'm not waking him. I don't know how a stimulant might react with the drug."

"Oh," said Jack darkly, "I'll give him a stimulant."

"Colonel," said Janet warily, but Jack ignored her. Walking up to the prone man, he pushed his thumb into the large bruise on the man's face.

The man sat up with a start, his eyes wide. The expression on his face quickly faded though, and he slumped back down, his eyes still open.

"What's your name?" asked Jack.

"Niel Marks," Niel answered dully.

"Were you at my house tonight to abduct Harry?"

"Yes."

"What was going to be done to him?"

"He was to be implanted with a device to prevent aggression and escape. He was to be questioned concerning the goa'uld and their technology. His physiology was to be studied."

"Wait, what's this device?"

"A surgically implanted micro explosive device, controlled by radio, and sensitive to tampering. It would kill him instantly should he leave his confines, use his abilities, or should it be commanded to through a remote."

"Okay," said Jack evenly, "maybe you two should leave the room."

"Colonel," said the General sharply, "you need to control yourself, because I have half a mind to order you out of this room. Now, I will continue the interview."

Jack took a deep breath and stepped back from the bed. The General asked his first question.

"Who do you work for?"

"I work for the NID," the man said.

"Then who the Hell ordered your mission."

"Colonel Frank Simmons ordered the mission."

!!!!!

"We've conducted successful raids in both the Oregon and California complexes. We have also taken five safe houses that were being used by the NID; four of them were occupied by rogue agents. Now we believe that we have managed to take a fair proportion of their leadership, but there are indications that we have only taken out a fraction of these rogue agents."

Major Davis was briefing the General, SG-1, and a number of other SG leaders on the new situation. "From what we can tell, the organization has grown since we shut down their off-world base. There are indications that their ranks have spread out into the private sector. We have nothing substantial, but there are signs that they are in bed with several politicians and corporations."

"What of Colonel Simmons?" asked Teal'c.

"It seems that he bugged out as soon as he learned that the mission had gone south," said the Major. "He obviously had plans to fall back on in the event of something like this happening."

"If the Colonel was able to escape, how did we get so many of them?" asked Daniel.

"The agents that we have captured were in the process of packing their things, they likely did not believe that we would be able to get the information we received so quickly. Colonel Simmons was slightly more paranoid."

"So where does the investigation go from here?"

"Obviously, we can't trust the NID to police themselves at the moment," said the Major. "The Air Force is heading this investigation, and we will be looking very deeply into every member of the NID.

"Currently, we have a list of individuals, not in custody, suspected of being a part of this conspiracy."

As the major read out the list of suspected rogue agents, Jack thought back to the conversation he had had with both the general and Harry, earlier that morning. Harry had been found in the commissary with the base shrink, looking a bit more even tempered than Jack had expected. He hadn't thought there would be much to relate to Harry and the General, until he got to the part about the warning he received.

"Did any such individuals show up?" the General had asked.

"No," said Jack. "The only people there before the soldiers arrived were a couple of Marshals."

"Marshals?" the General asked.

"Yeah," said Jack. "They said that they'd been in the area, and heard the commotion."

"Colonel, you live in the middle of nowhere. You didn't find them at all suspicious?"

"No, they-" Jack shut his mouth for a moment, his thoughts suddenly jumbled for a moment before he remembered. "I was. I was suspicious as hell, and I didn't need a warning to be. They didn't act like cops."

"So what?" Harry asked. "You forgot you were suspicious?"

"No. I mean, the trucks started driving up, and I stopped thinking about them. They were pretty normal, I don't think we need to worry about them."

"Colonel?"

"Jack?"

"What?"

"You just said that you didn't believe them," said the General, "now you're saying we shouldn't worry about them?"

"Yes," said Jack. "No," he amended, growing more confused by the second. "Okay, something's not right."

"A switch was flipped," suggested Harry. "One minute you were thinking properly, and you knew you couldn't trust them. Then something changed that made you suddenly dismiss them. It would be hard to put the two mind frames together, without some rationale for the switch."

Jack fumed at the thought; those two had messed with his head. It was the only thing that made sense.

"How can they have done something like this?" asked the General.

"I have no idea how," answered Harry. "But if this… godfather… is involved, I'm guessing that they used the force." Harry considered something for a moment. "An alien father is looking a little less likely now."

Jack pulled his musings out of thoughts about strange men playing with his head.

"Secret community," he suggested, "and a secret police that reacted to whatever the godfather did." It was always 'the godfather,' never 'Harry's godfather'.

"Frankly," said the General, "I don't know which of the two scenarios is worse."

Either way, if the strange man that had been watching them was to be believed, these people were a threat. Jack's thoughts drifted back to the meeting as the General cleared his throat.

"Moving on, Major Carter?"

"Yes sir. As of yesterday, we have started testing the personal shield on human subjects."

"And how exactly does one go about doing something like that?" asked Jack.

Sam cleared her throat and answered. "We have been using three different kinds of high quality body armor, protecting against fire, plasma, bullets and knives, in addition to the energy shield."

"And what have you found?" asked the General?

"The results are as promising as what we found during animal testing. We still haven't found any potential detriments to using the shield, but it isn't perfect."

"What are its limitations?" asked Daniel?

"The shield is very advanced in some ways when compared to a goa'uld shield. It activates only when needed, and changes depending on what's being thrown at it. However, we weren't quite able to copy the whole energy matrix we found on the Colonel, so it is lacking in some dimensions. Also, without a power source it dissipates within thirty-six hours, and it can't take the same kind of barrage as a goa'uld shield can. It breaks after about four staff blasts, nineteen zat blasts, and roughly half a clip from a P-90. That does extend up to two clips of single shots though. Things will get iffy if you're in an explosion, and radiation and airborne toxins are almost never caught. Also, while knives can be stopped when they're thrown, it won't stop someone from stabbing you."

"So," said Jack, "standing still and letting them shoot you…"

"Is still a bad idea," said Sam. "I also wouldn't recommend getting hit with too many things at once. Preferably, if you're going to be shot more than once, you would want to space it out a little," she said awkwardly.

"How do you see this technology being used, Major?" asked the General.

"Well sir, nothing is stopping us from applying a shield to everyone going through the Stargate, and the gate room personnel as well."

"Very good work," said the General. "How soon can the shield be cleared for use?"

"Next week, sir. Traditionally it would be longer, but we still have access to the Tok'ra scanner that we used to study Harry's physiology. It allows us to monitor any side effects that the shield may cause on a long term basis."

The General nodded. "Then Colonel," he turned to Jack, "it looks like we have a project for you."

"For me sir?" He wasn't really the project sort.

"You are suited for this job. Personal shields change the playing field, and I need you to reinvent the game. I want your report on my desk in five days. Work with the rest of your team. You're going to be writing the book on this." He looked around the room. "And do remember that everyone here is going to be reading it."

"Yes, sir," said Jack.

The General nodded. "Dismissed, people."

!!!!!

It was a few days before Padfoot saw Harry and Jack again. Of course, it wasn't that odd for them to stay away for a few nights, but usually not over the weekend. He overheard enough conversation that night to know that the people who had come after Harry were now on the defensive. For the first time since his escape, Sirius felt completely at peace, even a little bit proud. He had failed Lilly and James so badly eight years ago, but he had saved Harry. Harry was safe now, because of Sirius.

Harry crawled into bed with one of his science books around nine, and Padfoot leapt up to rest at his feet. Every now and then, Harry would snicker at something, and scribble something in the book, at one point going so far as to get out of bed to grab his laptop, typing away furiously. Jack came in at ten.

"Time for bed, Harry," he said.

"Just a second," said Harry, his fingers somehow flying even faster.

"What are you working on?"

"Nathan Seiberg," said Harry, "his theories are all completely wrong, but some of his ideas, I think, can be applied to subspace."

Jack shook his head, but he was smiling. "Don't you already understand subspace?"

"Not really. I don't think anyone really understands it. We just make use of it. I mean, we live in regular space, and we travel through hyperspace, but all we ever really do is send information through subspace. We've never really been there."

"If you say so," said Jack; the man checked his watch. "And you're almost done."

Harry made a choked sound. "But I've barely started." He had been typing for twenty minutes.

"Bed, now."

"But-"

"Tomorrow could become a science free day."

The laptop closed in a flash. "I am sort of tired," said Harry, his tune changed.

"Well see?" said Jack, "ten's a great bed time." He carried the laptop over to the desk. "I'm sure Lee'll love to hear about it tomorrow."

"Nah," said Harry, "I'm working with that guy from Area 51. The one working on the new fighter program."

Jack looked at him askance. "Don't work the whole afternoon away. Go ahead and bug Lee a little, if you want."

"Okay," said Harry.

"Night, Harry."

"Night," said Harry. Jack walked over to the light switch, but Harry stopped him. "What do I call you now?" Jack stilled. "The papers we signed, they mean 'father'." Padfoot perked his ears up.

"That's right," said Jack.

"I don't know-" he stopped.

"You don't have to call me anything you don't want to. You can though."

Harry swallowed. "I've never said anything like it."

"I know," said Jack. "So no pressure."

"Okay."

"Good night."

"Good night."

Sirius hadn't put much thought into the future; eight years in Azkaban had seen to that. Not that he had been very future oriented before, but it's hard to plan for the future when you can't see any point to it. He'd gotten used to that. Sirius had never really thought about where the relationship between Harry and Jack would be going, but here it was, clearly defined. Harry had been adopted, and soon he would be calling someone other than James his father.

Padfoot slunk out of the room and found a dark corner of the house to curl up in. For the first time since his escape, he wished that he had Remus there to talk to. He had wished for the dead plenty of times: James, Lily, even his little brother Regulus on rare occasions. He had avoided even thinking about Remus though. There was no doubt that the man believed in Sirius' guilt, and Sirius could not blame him. He had suspected Remus before it had all fallen apart; that was why he had trusted Pettigrew. Right then though, he would have given anything to have his old friend there to talk to.

He couldn't begrudge Harry for his relationship with Jack. The same went for Jack. It all still felt so wrong though. They had had everything planned out. Harry would have had two younger siblings, the youngest a girl. James would teach them to fly and Sirius, Remus, and Peter would teach them how to pull pranks (James had been forbidden by Lily). They knew what they would get Harry for all birthdays up until his eleventh. Of course, they never factored Voldemort into their plans.

Sirius had never seen the current arrangement as permanent; he had never thought about it. But it was, and even as depressed as he was, he knew that he couldn't keep on wallowing. Harry deserved better than that.

!!!!!

"Sir, I've completed my report. I'd left a quick bio-ward on the house, and the boy finally tripped it. He's definitely a wizard, probably a muggle born. There weren't any signs of the usual two and five year inoculations."

Jefferies nodded. "He's probably descended from a squib line then. That would explain the other wizard. A relative probably; an uncle or grand parent. They felt an emotional connection to their blood kin, but didn't want to admit to a squib relative. I've seen the like before. It doesn't really matter, as long as we're not dealing with a vigilante, I'm closing this case. I know you still have questions; I for one would like to know how he knew of the attack. But we have too much on our plates as it is."

"Okay sir. But one more thing, what about what the man said? About experimenting?"

"As I understand it, muggles have much more stringent guidelines on what experiments they can perform." He shrugged. "If some outlaw scientist wanted to conduct an illegal experiment on live subjects, they'd need to obtain their subjects somehow."

"But what if they suspect he's a wizard? I mean, why him?"

"I have, of course, all ready considered this. The colonel said that the boy was gifted in school. That may be their criteria. If you had read the report thoroughly, you would have noticed that there has not been any wild magic in the Colorado Springs area for the past year. Even if the muggles had some inkling of magic, and the man confessed that they didn't, they would have nothing to go by in regards to the boy."

Anderson nodded, but said, "What about the anomalous magic?"

Jefferies shook his head. "We find strange readings every now and then. Remember Franklin Park? Those readings had nothing to do with that case. They never have anything to do with any case we've worked on, and they're all reported to the Anomalous Magic Committee, never to be heard from again. The boy's a muggleborn, all that we can expect from him is accidental magic, and we can be positive that he hasn't done any yet."

"I guess you're right. I'm just being paranoid."

Jefferies rolled his eyes. "All rookies are paranoid. You see the outlandish everywhere. Now enough of this. We have more than enough real work to be getting on with, including the Walsh homicide. You can be sure that this won't be the last time you have to put down a case that you aren't satisfied with."

"All right, sir."

"Leave your report on my desk, I still need to sign it off."

Anderson nodded and left the file, before going back to his own desk. Jefferies left the papers for last, more pressing matters taking precedence. He was alone in the office when he finally opened the folder. The boy's face was not supposed to be familiar.

"Wicked Esty! It's Harry Potter."

A/N: I would like to say that I am terribly sorry that I haven't updated in so long. The end of the school year, and moving out of my apartment have made for poor conditions in which to write. My apologies go to all fans of Tar'chell: I don't have anything ready for that story line. Hopefully, I will have much more time with which to write these stories (hopefully not too much time, I need to find a job).

For those wondering about the Wicked Esty comment, Esty she was a supposed witch who was hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. She was a healer, and her profession was rather suspect at the time. Anyway, my beta figured that people in America aren't going to be harping on about Merlin.

Finally, I will soon be putting this story into the crossover section.


	10. 09 Fire

Disclaimer: Once again, I am not on the list of people who own, or have any rights to, the Harry Potter or Stargate universes.

A/N: Be sure you're familiar with the plot line of 'Between Two Fires,' before reading. A good summary can be found at Gateworld, and the script is at IMSDB.

Fire

"Good afternoon Mr. Lee. The President is still in a meeting with the South Korean Ambassador in the Green Room. You can wait in his office."

"Thank you Peggy," said Stephen Lee. He strode into the Oval office, closing the door after himself. It was his second year into his position as Secretary of Magic, and this was his tenth visit to the Presidents office, but it never got old. He passed the time waiting for the President by pacing around the room admiring the portraits and paintings.

He still didn't know why President Treadmore had chosen him over the other four nominees chosen by the American wizarding population. On paper they had all been more qualified than he was to be one of the most influential wizards in the free world. President Treadmore had never told him.

He was still somewhat surprised by the news that he was bringing to the President. To be honest, with the news surrounding the Potter boy's disappearance, he had thought that the boy would never turn up, let alone be adopted by an Air Force Colonel. When the global wizarding community had started the search for the boy, they had never considered the need to alert the president; the muggle US government had all ready been looking for him. Now he would have to explain the whole situation to the President.

Stephen turned when he heard the door open.

"Mr. President."

"Secretary Lee," the President greeted him, "how are you?"

"I'm doing rather well sir, if rather busy."

"Glad to hear it. And the kids?"

"They're fine. My oldest is breezing through her first year at St. Agatha's."

"Good, good." President Treadmore gestured to one of the couches and sat opposite of it. "So tell me what it is that has brought you here so suddenly."

"Well sir," Stephen said, taking a seat, "you've probably heard about the kidnapping of that British boy by two US citizens."

"Harry Potter," the President supplied.

"That's right. Well sir, the boy is in fact a high profile British wizard. He's been something of a celebrity since he was an infant."

"I know," said the President blandly.

"You do," said Stephen. "That's a surprise, sir."

"Oh, I was surprised when I received a call from Tony asking me to help him stick it to Minister Fudge."

Stephen let out a short laugh. "Our congress wouldn't have minded helping. We've never been shy about one-upping their Ministry of Magic."

"Well we didn't want the boy's disappearance into the US to seem to be anything other than a miscommunication."

"Do you know then, what exactly happened to him?" It was not often that the President got the chance to brief him on matters of the wizarding world.

"You'll be surprised to know that it had nothing to do with magic."

"You're sure?"

"Quite. You should also know that we've cleared both suspects."

"I don't understand; there were eye witnesses."

"Oh, they did the deed, but they were being controlled, and the boy really did get caught up by chance."

"What aren't you telling me, sir?"

"Quite a lot, actually. Unfortunately, it's all classified."

Stephen paused. "We couldn't help but notice that the Colonel is stationed in Cheyenne Mountain." In 1994, the National Magical Monitoring Agency had started to notice odd non-magical readings coming from the mountain. When the matter had been taken to the President, they had been told firmly that the matter was Top Secret, and that they weren't to make further inquiries into the mountain. Of course, it didn't stop the system from picking up the readings, which had become quite regular in the past five years.

"I believe that my predecessor told yours that that's a secret much greater than the magical world."

"Yes sir, and we've respected that-"

"And you will continue to do so. We're not dissecting the boy, Stephen. The program has nothing to do with the wizarding world."

"And the adoption?"

"It's legit, and I don't just mean legally."

"I see. I suppose Colonel O'Neill rescued the boy?" asked Stephen, trying to wrap his head around how Harry Potter had gotten himself adopted by a man who was himself wrapped in intrigue.

"He found him. Though to give credit where it's due, the boy escaped on his own."

"Really? Accidental magic, probably."

The President inclined his head. "Does the boy know what he is?"

"According to the British investigation, his relatives never told him."

"So, are you going to tell the boy what he is?"

Of course the President himself could do nothing to inform the boy himself. During the war of 1812 the British Ministry had cursed the position of the Presidency to prevent him from revealing the wizarding world to anyone, through any means. The man couldn't even tell Stephen to tell the boy. Out of fervor for American sovereignty, the American Wizarding Congress had attempted to remove the curse many times, but it was pervasive.

"We've decided to hold off on it, actually. For one thing, the boy likely doesn't need this kind of revelation on top of everything else, and it is standard procedures in the rare cases like these to not immediately let muggles know that they have taken in a wizarding child. We've found that it is best to give them a chance to bond. But also, we'd like to keep this low key. Having the boy is something like having an Ace in the hand. We'd rather the Ministry of Magic not have a chance to contest things until the adoption is old news."

"What will you do until then?"

"We'll keep an eye on him. School records, hospital. Just making sure he's okay, really."

"Sounds like a plan, then. So how did you find him?"

"There was an incident, sir. Eight muggle men tried to abduct the boy, again, and they were stopped by a wizard that we haven't been able to identify."

"So it sounds like someone found him before you did."

"That's right, sir."

"Any suspects?"

"Just one, actually. A wizard by the name of Sirius Black, though there's some doubt about that."

"Tell me about it. Is this a British wizard?"

"Yes sir. He's an escaped…" he paused.

"Convict?"

"Well, not…" Lee searched for the right word "technically, the man was never given a trial. There isn't exactly any doubt about his guilt, but he was never given the chance to defend himself against the charges. He was imprisoned for eight years, and he escaped shortly after the boy disappeared. Black is Harry Potter's godfather. We know from the British investigation that he assaulted the boy's relatives while searching for the boy."

"Forgetting for the moment the fact that the Ministry of Magic threw justice out the door eight years ago, tell me why there's doubt about him being this defender."

"It's the man's crimes, sir. Sirius Black was supposed to be one of Voldemort's lieutenants, and among his crimes, he is supposed to have betrayed the Potters to Voldemort, resulting in the boy being orphaned. It was only a miracle that the boy survived that night, so we really can't see any reason for him to be protecting the boy."

"Except that he could be innocent."

"I suppose so."

"Here's what I want you to do, Stephen. You're going to launch an investigation into these crimes. I want the truth, no matter how buried it is. After all, why stop with just one ace?"

!!!!!

"Wait, what's a kid doing here?" Lieutenant Satterfield asked Lieutenant Elliot. They were the first two to arrive for the day's training mission, and they certainly hadn't expected to find a minor in this part of the military base.

"I don't know," said Elliot. "Hey kid," he raised his voice to reach the kid sitting on the hood of a Humvee. "What are you doing here? This is a restricted area."

The kid jumped down from the hood, brushing his bangs away from his eyes.

"Jack brought me," he said, walking towards the pair. "He said that I could be a part of the exercise today."

"Jack- Colonel O'Neill brought you?" asked Elliot. Why would the Colonel bring a kid to a top-secret training mission?

"Yeah, he said I could play a Tok'ra."

"You're not even supposed to know that word."

"Well," said the kid, "as I'm a former host, it would be kind of silly for me not to."

"Meet Harry Potter," came the Colonel's voice from behind him, "my adopted son."

Elliot saw the kid smile as he and Satterfield turned to salute the Colonel.

"Sir," they both addressed him.

"At ease, Lieutenants," said the Colonel.

Elliot relaxed his posture. "I didn't realize sir," he said.

"Of course you didn't. We're not in the habit of telling trainees every little detail about the program. It was decided though that including Harry here would help to lend another layer of reality to this training exercise, as well as help him burn off some more energy by bed time."

Elliot heard the kid groan behind him. He turned to the boy.

"So you have what it takes?" he asked.

"Oh I think I could teach you a thing or two."

"I guess I'm looking forward to it then."

"Who's the kid?" came Grogan's voice. The last two members of his team had turned up.

!!!!!

This was turning out to be as fun as Harry had hoped. Jack had apparently had the idea back when they had first relocated to the SGC after the incident with Sergeant Siler. Jack had said that it was like paint balling on steroids. Harry had never gone paint balling before, but he assumed that it was exciting.

First had come the background story. The team of Lieutenants had been on a mission with Harry on behalf of the Tok'ra via cargo ship. They had taken fire from a Ha'tak and escaped, but had later crash-landed on another planet. That was all that Harry knew though, because apparently his character got knocked out two seconds after stepping out of the crashed ship in an ambush. He had wanted to protest the likelihood of his being taken like that, but he supposed that that wasn't the point of the exercise. The next thing he knew he was wearing a blindfold and sound muffling earmuffs to simulate an unconscious state, before he was led away.

It was only a few seconds after he arrived at his destination that first the earmuffs and then his blindfold were removed by Lieutenant Haley. He looked around the room they were locked it. The walls and floor were padded, like a crazy house.

"We're in some sort of bunker," said the Lieutenant. "This room is pretty deep under ground, and the walls are pretty thick."

"How about the door?" asked Harry. He wasn't allowed to use any of his abilities, so he couldn't just open a hyperspace window.

"It's strong, with a heavy lock and hinges. If this room's got a weak spot, I wouldn't put my money on the door. Why'd they let you keep your hand device? That doesn't make any sense."

Harry held up his hand. "Fused to my skin," he said.

"Ouch."

"Not really. What else can you tell me?"

"They're industrialized," she said. "They have machine guns, but nothing too sophisticated. I'd put them at about the 1970's, in terms of development."

"**We were not around for Earth's 1970's,**" said Harry, falling into his role as a Tok'ra.

"That's creepy," said Haley. "Right. Rudimentary computers; no Internet. They've mastered the air, the atom, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Fortunately, they won't be able to break the encryption on our radios, except that we of course don't have any. Think your hand device could get through a door that thick?"

"Yeah," said Harry, "but we'd have every guard in this place here by the time I do."

"Right. There's no lock on the inside to try and pick, so I'm thinking we go at this padding, see what's underneath."

Harry never got the chance to weigh in on the plan, because the door opened in that moment. Three men walked in, all in stuffy uniforms.

"You are not from this planet," said the man in the lead, who had the most decorations on his uniform. "We have been through your craft. The technology, and writing in it have no place on our planet. You will tell us everything about your people's designs on this world, and what contact you have made with our enemies. You will reveal to us the secrets of your technology. Obviously, your physiology is similar to ours, and we have ways to make you tell us what we want, if you do not divulge it to us willingly."

While he was talking, Harry positioned himself opposite the door, getting a better look at what was outside.

"No," said Haley, "you have it all wrong. We're here on accident. Our ship was damaged, and we crash landed."

"Do you think that I am a fool? Or that our race is so primitive that we would think that the skies are full of inhabited planets? You were here with a purpose, regardless of how your ship was damaged."

"But you're wrong. Many millennia ago, an ancient race transformed countless planets in this galaxy to support life. Seven thousand years ago, a race of beings took humans like us to different planets across the galaxy. There was still a large chance when we went to the nearest solar system that we wouldn't find a planet that could sustain us, but we got lucky."

"My people have lived on Olanga since our creation. We were not _herded_ like animals. You will begin speaking the truth, or I will kill the boy."

"But he's just a child," said Haley.

"Then he is of no use to us," said the man.

Harry figured that that was his cue. Not seeing a point in further words, he raised his hand device and let out a concussive force that sent the three men into the wall. Haley wasted no time in grabbing one of their intar pistols and shooting them. Two more guards rushed into the room, and Harry used just enough force to knock them over, while Haley shot them.

"So much for diplomacy," she said.

"They had it coming," said Harry.

"He was obnoxious," she agreed, handing Harry two of the pistols, one of which he put in his waistband.

"The Tok'ra do not use weapons such as these," said Harry, keeping to his character. Jack actually had very solemnly taught him everything there was to know about gun safety and marksmanship two weeks prior. It had been an awkward afternoon, and Harry knew that Charlie had likely been heavy on his adopted father's mind.

Haley started out the door and Harry followed her, letting her lead the way.

"Just point and shoot," she said. "The safety's this switch here. Turn it off on the one you're holding now, and don't point it at anything you don't want to kill. Don't forget about the safety if you need to change guns. Got it?"

"Yeah," said Harry. They set off down the hallway that had more rooms like the one they had been kept in. The doors were all open, so they could see that the rest of the team wasn't there.

"There's a guard room at the end of this hallway, behind what seemed like a relatively flimsy door. It was filled with guards when we went through."

"Hinges?" asked Harry.

"They're on the outside."

"I can knock that in."

"Good. Then we'll go in firing."

"I'll go in the lead," said Harry. "My shield should give me at least a little protection." Ironically, real bullets would have gone right through, though a real Tok'ra would have a modern hand device.

"You're the Colonel's son. If I let anything happen to you…"

"What could happen? I could take fifteen hits from an intar and wake up with only a small headache. Besides, right now I'm a Tok'ra."

"Fine," she said.

Harry raised his hand device and let off a sharp blast towards the handle. The door flew open, coming off one of its hinges. He ran in with his shield up, firing his intar into the chaos. It was a couple seconds before the guards inside realized what was happening and started firing back. In that time, Harry took out three of the guards, and Haley another one. The remaining three opened fire with machine guns. Haley was behind Harry, her small stature offering her some protection behind his smaller frame, but right away Harry was struck with five of the red bolts of energy, which had been partially bled off into his shield.

Haley returned fire on the three men as she dove for better cover, while Harry fell to his knees. He moved for cover as his opponents did the same. Haley shot one before he could get behind a fallen table, and Harry pressed himself against the side of a filing cabinet before pulling himself up. He didn't think that he could take another barrage like that without succumbing to its effects. As it stood, they were all behind cover.

Harry called out to Haley, "there's an alarm button by the other door, make sure they don't get to it." He glanced around the cabinet briefly before ducking back from the hail of shots from the guard's intars. One of the men was behind a couch, and the other an over turned table. Working out a quick plan, Harry lowered his shield and stepped out again. He used his hand device to push the couch against the wall, pinning the guard behind it. He swung his arm to the other guard, focusing the concussive energy to meet the oncoming intar shots. He raised his pistol and shot back, striking the man in the chest.

"Duck!" came Haley's voice. Harry dropped to the ground, narrowly missing the red bolts that sailed through the space he had formerly occupied. Haley stepped out and shot the guard that was no longer pinned by the couch.

"That all of them?" asked Harry.

"Yeah," said Haley.

"Right then," said Harry as he got up from the floor. "Onward, I suppose."

They both took a machine gun from the guards and an extra clip before continuing.

"How far under ground are we?" asked Harry.

"Three levels at least. It's not going to be easy getting out of this though. We took stairs down, but they were very public."

"How many people do they have working this?"

"Most of the time it's just the one team, but this isn't the first time they've gone all out. I'm pretty sure they all get a kick out of it."

"Okay." Harry thought about their options. "Hey, wasn't the staircase really narrow?"

"You're not supposed to remember that. You were unconscious at the time."

Harry waved aside that concern. "How do you suppose they got that couch down there?"

"They could have a freight elevator."

"Where would you put an elevator in a place like this?" asked Harry.

Haley considered the question. "You know, I think I saw something on the first floor that could be it. This way." She turned around and went down another corridor. A hundred feet in, the large metal doors were right there with the call buttons on the left.

"Cool," said Harry, pushing the upper button.

A few seconds later, the doors were open, but the elevator was not empty. There were three figures inside, each with a weapon pointed at them.

"Freeze!" said one of them.

"I could say the same to you Lieutenant," said Haley to Lieutenant Elliot.

"Haley, Harry," said Satterfield in surprise.

"So much for our rescue op.," said Elliot.

"Oh I wouldn't mind a larger shield," said Haley.

"Come on," said Elliot. "We won't be able to go out the same way we came in."

"What's the plan then?" asked Haley.

"There's a tunnel that leads to the surface, one level down. It's only accessible from the inside."

"Okay then," said Haley. "Down we go."

Harry and Haley joined the group in the elevator. The ride down was brief, and there wasn't anyone waiting for them on floor below. Lieutenant Elliot led them down a couple of hallways before they came to a blank wall.

"Now if our intelligence is right…" he said, before kicking the lower right corner of the wall. Somewhere a latch clicked, and a portion of the brick wall slid aside.

"Our guy didn't say anything about a lock," said Grogan.

"Haley," said Elliot.

Haley stepped forward and examined the lock on the door. "It's five ten-digit tumblers. That's a hundred thousand combinations. I don't see any way of bypassing it."

"What I wouldn't give for a sonic screwdriver," said Satterfield.

"A what?" asked Harry.

"You should know," she said, "you're British."

"Never mind," said Elliot, "think we can shoot it apart?"

"Intars can't impart the necessary kinetic force," said Haley.

"No, but they could have set the thing to break if we shoot at it," said Grogan from where he was standing guard behind them. "You know, give us something to work with."

"All right," said Elliot. "Everyone stand back."

They all backed up as Elliot took aim. He fired five shots with his P-90, and they all heard a loud crack come from the door. The locking mechanism fell from the door, but nothing else happened. Elliot stepped forward to examine the space where the lock had been. "Haley," he said once more.

"I guess it's not deadlock sealed," muttered Satterfield as Haley stepped forward and examined the space. She stuck her hands in.

"I think I got this, but it won't be easy."

Haley was the first to be affected. She grasped the wall as her knees became weak. Harry felt the feeling of light-headedness next.

"Gas," he said, raising his shield against whatever was pumping into the hallway. Haley collapsed as the other three members of the team began to succumb. Harry stepped up to examine what Haley had been doing. He saw the mechanism she had been trying to manipulate. Lowering his shield, he held his breath as he reached in and easily grasped the mechanism that she had been trying to move. There was a hiss of air rushing in from the tunnel as the door opened.

Harry grabbed Halley and pulled her through the door, allowing Elliot and Grogan to carry in a barely conscious Satterfield.

"Come on," said Harry. "We have to out run the gas." They set off, Harry pulling Haley by the arm.

A couple hundred feet into the tunnel Satterfield had recovered enough to move under her own power, and Haley was conscious enough to be supported by Elliot and Grogan.

"Hold on," said Elliot, as they noticed the end of the tunnel coming into sight. "If I were smart enough to rig that door with gas, I would also be smart enough to put people at the door at the other end."

"How'd you get in?" asked Haley groggily.

"It's a little late to go back the way we came in," said Satterfield.

"Do they know you're here?" she clarified.

"Well technically," said Elliot. "But officially, they shouldn't. Our entry was clean."

"You're in no shape to be bait," said Grogan.

"I'm in perfect shape for bait. I'm not much use as anything else."

"Harry will have to go too, or it won't work," said Elliot.

"That's okay," said Harry, "they won't officially know that I have a weapon attached to my arm."

"It's a plan then," said Elliot. "We'll hang back in the shadows."

Harry helped Haley forward and opened the door. He squinted against the bright light and walked out, holding his pistol down so as to seem less threatening. The door led out from a hillside. Ten feet from the exit they were surrounded by a dozen well-hidden men. Harry recognized some of them from their escape from the holding area.

"Drop your weapons," shouted one of the men, who Harry remembered was one of the gate technicians.

Harry and Haley both set their machine-guns on the ground, as well as a pistol each. Harry still had one tucked in the small of his back, and he didn't know if they would find it before the backup arrived.

"Get on the ground," came the order from the shouting gate technician, and Harry helped ease Haley to the ground as he himself lay down. Red flashes started flying over his head just as someone started manhandling him. The man over him stood and turned to face the oncoming fire, and Harry took the opportunity to sweep his legs out from under him. Harry raised his shield as he stood, and he pulled his reserve pistol, firing first on the man on the ground and then everyone else he could set his sights on. Before it was over, he took one shot to the chest, but it wasn't enough to faze him.

"Grogan," came Jack's voice loudly, "why is it that you keep on dying?"

"Sorry sir," Grogan groaned from the ground.

Their enemies were all on the ground recovering from the intar shots. Grogan was the only member of their team who had been shot.

"I have to admit though," said Jack, "you were only the second team to make it out the booby-trapped door."

"What was that gas, sir?" asked Lieutenant Elliot.

"It's a little something we picked up off world. Perfectly harmless, if you don't mind slowly falling unconscious. Now, I am uncharacteristically, yet only barely, satisfied. The four of you were sloppy, but aside from Grogan here, you made it out. We'll just have to see next time if this wasn't a fluke."

"What about me?" asked Harry.

Jack shrugged. "You weren't being evaluated. You were playing a part."

"You don't have anything for me?"

"Well," said Jack, "I've never seen a Tok'ra volunteer to be bait, so you could work on your acting. Really though, you were good in combat, and not just for your first time."

"Cool," said Harry.

"Obviously," said Jack, "the point of this exercise was not diplomacy. Lieutenant Hailey, you get points for trying. Getting back to sloppy," said Jack, "Lieutenant Elliot, you and your team seemed to enjoy making things harder…"

!!!!!

"You didn't have to be mean to them," said Harry on their way back home.

"That wasn't mean," said Jack, "that was encouraging them to suck less."

"You said that only one other team had made it through."

"Sure, but you helped out a little more than the usual 'Tok'ra' helper. I'm not saying they're the worst I've seen. They just need to do better."

"Lieutenant Elliot saw the ambush coming."

"That he did," said Jack with a faint smile, and Harry realized that no one had said how many teams had completed the exercise without everyone being captured "So I got word while the exercise was running. I'm going to have to go off world tomorrow."

"But tomorrow's a Sunday."

"I know, and it's nothing dangerous, but an important government official of one of our more annoying allies has died. SG-1's presence has been requested at the funeral."

"Oh," said Harry, not quite sure of what to say about such a thing. "Did you know him very well?"

"Not really," said Jack. "He was pretty condescending in an 'our race was reading at a twelfth grade level while yours was repeating the fifth grade,' sort of way."

"So, you're not upset or anything?"

"He was an okay guy, but like I said, I barely knew him."

"At least no one will be shooting at you this time."

!!!!!

"So what did you do over the weekend?" asked Simon.

They always wanted to know what he did when he wasn't around, and half of the time he had to lie.

"Jack took me laser tagging," Harry answered. Sometimes it was only a half lie.

They were at Matt's house, in the boy's large jungle of a room. Jack was off world for the day, but he was supposed to come back and pick him up. His planned mission to an abandoned naquedah mine had been given to another SG team in favor of sending SG-1 back to Tollana. Harry didn't know the details but was glad that it meant Jack would be coming home for the night.

"Aw, cool," said Simon from atop Matt's loft bed.

"We did that once for my birthday," said Andy, who was controlling one of the Mario characters on Matt's GameCube.

"And you just had to bring your little brothers," said Matt.

"My Mom insisted," protested Andy.

"Timmy and Johnny kept crying when anyone shot them," Matt explained to Harry. "It wasn't fair, I'm telling you. Their team almost won, 'cause no one wanted to shoot them."

"You didn't have any trouble shooting them," said Tommy.

"Yeah," said Philip, "you had a little too much fun shooting them."

"I had to make up for you guys," said Matt. Harry wondered what sort of brother Matt would have been. The boy had told him before that the reason his room was so large was that his parents had had the wall between it and the next bedroom over knocked down when it had become clear that they would be unable to have another child.

Thinking about it, he wondered what sort of brother he would have been. He could have been an older brother if his parents had survived, like Andy. Or supposing that Charlie had never died, he could have been someone's younger brother, like Simon. Of course, he probably wouldn't even know Jack if Charlie had never died, he thought morbidly. Philip pulled him out of his suddenly dark thoughts.

"So which one was it?" he asked. "We went to the one close to the high school, Laser Quest."

Shoot, lies were better when you did your research. "Oh, I went to this one down town. I forget the name."

"Oh!" said Simon, "Cyberslugger? I've heard of that place." Harry nodded uncertainly. "Roger went there," Simon continued. "He said they had a really big arcade too.

"Yeah," said Harry, "we played a lot of pinball."

"Pinball?" asked Simon. "I bet they had loads cooler games than pinball. They even have a DDR."

Harry was saved from having to ask what a DDR was when Mrs. Carver entered the room.

"Harry," she said, "your father is here to get you now. Are you ready to go?"

It was still a little weird when people referred to Jack as his father. Harry still just called him Jack.

"Yeah," said Harry, "I'll just get my backpack." He ran over to the corner to pick up his bag, and he waved to his friends. "Bye guys, I'll see you tomorrow."

There was a chorus of 'see you' and 'later Harry,' as he left the room. He went down the stairs quickly, seeing Jack in the entryway below.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself," said Jack. "How was school?"

"It was okay," he said. "We got pizza for lunch."

"That's good," said Jack. He turned to Mrs. Carver. "Have a good day, ma'am. Thank you for watching after Harry."

They left to her assurances that it had been no problem. Jack turned to Harry.

"So things went pretty well today. It looks like you and Sam are going to have a new toy to play with soon."

Harry smiled.

!!!!!

Sam stood next to Narim and Daniel in Travelle's office surrounded by Tollan security, wondering just what effect the Tollan weapons had, and how their new shields would hold against it. Finding out that the Tollan Ion Cannons they were supposed to get were useless against this new Goa'uld shield had been bad. Finding out that the Tollan Curia was colluding with the Goa'uld had been much worse. She caught Daniel's eye and nodded. He nodded back.

She stepped to the side and grabbed the wrist of the guard closest to her, disarming him in only a second. The security guards opened fire and she felt the strange beams of energy impact her shield, but that was all. An elbow to the guard's face put him on the ground, and she opened fire first on Tanith. Her shot was ineffective against his shield. The shield was ineffective against Narim though, who tackled the goa'uld. Trusting the man to at least keep Tanith busy, she opened fire on the rest of the security guards. Daniel was backed into a corner near her, and had covered her while she had been aiming at Tanith.

Apparently taking his queue from Narim, one of the guards tackled her, pulling her to the ground. She quickly blocked a blow he aimed at her mid section, and slugged him in the jaw. She grabbed both his weapon and her own as she stood, shooting one last guard as he tried to leave through the wall, before shooting the man she had punched out.

"Anyone get out?" she asked Daniel.

"No, they're all here."

Travelle still stood, pressed against her own desk.

"Keep her there," she told Daniel, before rushing behind the desk to check on Narim. He sat on the ground with a hand against his head, next to an unconscious Tanith.

"I thought," he said, "that my best chance of rendering him unconscious would be to cause his head to impact the ground unprotected. Unfortunately I forgot about my own."

Sam winced at the blood flowing through Narim's fingers. "That's not too bad, Narim. You did stop him." She fired the Tollan stun weapon at the goa'uld just in case. Turning to Travelle, she said, "you should have done that a while ago."

"You have doomed us all," the woman said, "and to no avail. More security will be here momentarily."

"I don't think so," said Daniel. "They would have already arrived, but I'm guessing you've turned off all monitoring devices in this room."

"This will help nothing," said Travelle.

"No," said Sam, "what will help is if you tell us how to get onto his ship."

"I will not help you to start a battle that we cannot win."

"I will do so, one way or another," said Narim, walking up to them. "They can incapacitate you before you can lock me out of your computer. If you do not help us to board Tanith's mothership, I will fire an ion cannon at the facility that houses the new weapons. That will show our enemies that we do not mean to hold to our end of this bargain. I will do this if I cannot keep those weapons from the goa'uld."

"Our people would all die," said Travelle.

"Perhaps not," he said, "if you help us."

Travelle took a deep breath. "There is a cloaked cargo ship on top of this building. Tanith has been employing the rings."

"How many ships are there?" asked Sam.

"One mothership and three al'kesh. We believe that they are all protected by the same shields."

"We've infiltrated mothership's before," said Sam.

"We've also sent a bomb to one of them," said Daniel, referring to his first expedition through the gate when he had killed Ra.

"Narim," said Sam, "do you think we could deliver one of these new weapons?"

"There is no need for one," he said. "Sizable explosives are housed within the deep space research facility next to us."

"Can you get them here?" asked Daniel.

"No," said Narim, "but the High Chancellor can."

"Your plan would not be able to disable the al'kesh in the same manner," said Travelle. "They would change their shield frequencies the moment they realized what you have done."

"No," said Narim, "we will have to fight our way off of this planet. But if we destroy the mother ship, and all of its death gliders, then we will have more than a chance of escape."

"It would seem that I have no other option," said Travelle.

"You will also create warrants for the entire Curia," said Narim. "Of course arrests will have to wait until after the evacuation."

Travelle only nodded.

"Narim," said Sam. "I know our radio's won't pass through this building, but do you think you can patch us through to Jack and Teal'c?"

"It should not be difficult," he said.

!!!!!

"Colonel, do you read me?"

"Sam," said Jack from his hiding spot near the Tollan capitol building. "What's going on at your end?"

"There's a goa'uld mothership in orbit, sir. And three al'kesh. They have shields that can stand up to the Tollan's ion cannons, and Tanith is forcing them to make weapons for him on the behalf of another goa'uld."

"Tanith is alive?" growled Teal'c from next to him.

"Easy there big guy," said Jack. Through his radio he said, "What's your situation?"

"Our shields work very well against the Tollans' stun weapons, sir. We've effectively taken control here, and we have Travelle and Tanith under guard. Security has been lowered around the building; you can walk right in. We have a plan to destroy the mothership, but we need you here soon."

"We'll be there in two minutes. O'Neill out," he released his radio. "Come on," he said to Teal'c.

He and Teal'c left their hiding spot next to a staircase and made their way quickly to the Curia building.

"Now Teal'c, you remember what happened the last time you focused on revenge against that snake."

"Tanith will not escape me again," said Teal'c.

"See? Now see, that wasn't my point."

"I will refrain from killing him now, if it would be disadvantageous to our current mission. But Tanith will not be allowed to once more elude my wrath."

"If we get the opportunity, we're taking him to the Tok'ra. You can guard him if you want this time, no matter what they say about it."

"But O'Neill-"

"Don't forget, the host volunteered for this. We've got a chance to set him free, we should take it."

Teal'c smoldered as they reached the entrance to the building. "Very well," he said.

The two guards manning the security station eyed them warily, but did not stop them from walking past, towards Travelle's office. Jack looked around once they stepped inside.

"Looks like we missed the party," he said.

"Indeed," said Teal'c darkly as he eyed Tanith's bleeding and unconscious form.

"Sir," said Sam, "we don't know how much time we have. We're having a bomb delivered, but we need to take the cargo ship first. The scanners show that there are two Jaffa on board. Tanith's hand device should allow us to access it."

"Okay," said Jack, feeling somewhat superfluous as a commanding officer, "lead the way. Daniel, Teal'c, hold down the fort in here."

Sam nodded and walked out the door. They kept on alert as they made their way towards the upper levels, lest the security guards revert to their attempts at incapacitating them.

"How's your shield, Major?"

"I don't know how much longer it will last. I took at least fifteen hits back in Travelle's office."

"Any idea how these things compare to a zat?"

"Narim says that they don't pack as much of a punch, but it's still hard to say how much my shield can still take. I'd try the hand device, but I don't know how it might react with my own shield."

"I'll go in first then. It shouldn't be a problem with only two Jaffa." They reached the roof. "We sure this thing is here?"

"Yes sir. The Tollan's sensors can see through the cloak. They just didn't want anyone to actually see it."

"Got it," he said.

"Here goes," said Sam as she pressed the jewel on the hand device. The cargo ship shimmered into view and they ran up to it. The mere presence of the hand device allowed them entry through the door. Jack walked in, his weapon outstretched. The first Jaffa he was able to take by surprise. He took a zat blast before he stunned the other.

"Okay," said Jack, "that was easy."

"We'll have to thank Harry when we get home," said Sam.

Jack went on his radio. "We're ready up here."

"Okay," came Daniel's voice, "we're sending the bomb up now."

"After that Colonel," came Narim's voice, "I am asking that you and your team leave, and return to Earth through the Stargate."

"Narim," said Sam, "we can help you with this fight."

"There is little that you would be able to do after this," said Narim. "More importantly though, I cannot ask anything more of you. The Tollan people can ask nothing of you. Once the mothership is destroyed, I will destroy the weapons that have been created. Earth will be safe."

"Jack, Sam." Daniel's voice came from the door. "We've got the thing." He was accompanied by a Tollan man who was controlling a hovering platform, which held the bomb.

"Put it on the rings," sad Jack.

"I have given the device a three second delay," said the Tollan man. "It would be wise to not delay in it's delivery."

"Got it," said Jack.

The man activated the bomb and Jack put in the command to send it up. A few seconds later, Narim's voice came over the radio. "I can confirm the destruction of the mothership, I am firing upon the facility now."

"All right," said Jack, "time to go." He spoke through his radio. "Teal'c, head to the gate. Take Tanith with you."

"Sir," said Sam, "we can still help here."

"You heard the man, Major. This isn't our fight, and we're not exactly equipped to handle three al'kesh."

"We can still do something."

"No, we can't. Now get to the gate, that's an order."

She followed him out of the cargo ship and ran with him out of the building. He knew that he would feel bad later. The Tollans were generally the most moralistic people he knew, next to the Nox. He also knew that Sam had feelings for Narim, though he had never let on. But a sad Sam was better than a dead one. There was nothing else to be done.

They were the only ones running to the gate. In the chaos around them, it seemed as though the Tollans all knew what to do in an attack like this, and the plan had nothing to do with a handful of people running away through the gate.

Scratch that. As he approached the gate, he saw a group of children begin to appear through one of the Tollan transport pads. There were no adults with them, only older children leading the younger ones.

"Keep going," he told Sam as he altered his course towards the group. Ahead of them, the gate was active, and Teal'c stood by it with Tanith over his shoulders. He approached one of the older children as the ground began to shake. An al'kesh was making a bombing run over the city. The boy couldn't have been more than fifteen.

"What's your plan," he asked the boy.

"There is a planet we are to go to. We know the coordinates."

"No time," said Jack. His GDO had already flashed green, confirming that the wormhole was to Earth, and that the iris was open. "Send them through now; they'll be safe on Earth. You can meet up with your people later."

The boy looked uncertain but he nodded and turned to his charges.

"All of you, go through the gate now. We must hurry."

Jack ran with them to the gate, radioing ahead to the SGC.

"General," he said, "we've got refugees coming through. No injuries yet, all children."

"I copy that," said General Hammond.

Jack motioned for the rest of his team to go through the gate, as he himself took a position next to it, watching the procession of children stretching back to the transport pad where they were still coming through. Looking up he saw the al'kesh making it's way towards them, the massive bolts of plasma making louder and louder booms as it approached.

The pad suddenly stopped sending through children, though Jack was sure that there had to be more. This seemed to be a signal to some of the adolescents nearer the pad, and perhaps knowing that they would not make it to the gate before the al'kesh got there, they began sending their younger charges through the pad again, to some other escape contingency. There were too many that wouldn't make it though.

"Damn it," said Jack as he ran out as far as he dared and scooped up two of the younger children as he ran back to the gate. He shoved the two through the gate and turned around. The al'kesh was nearly on top of them, and he stood there feeling entirely useless without so much as a P-90 to fire back with. It was the blast that sent him through the gate.

Jack flew backward, but was saved from a concussion by the soft bodies he landed on. A couple children landed on top of him as the event horizon of the wormhole began to destabilize. Only one other child came flying through as the wormhole flickered, the teen girl's clothes singed from the blast. The wormhole collapsed.

"What happened?" asked the General as he pushed through the sea of children. Medics had all ready rushed to those injured in the blast, and its backlash through the gate. Jack stood up shakily, dazed from the blast and breathing heavily. His ears still rang, and he stared at the General blankly.

"The older ones could have escaped," he said. "They didn't go. They put the little ones on first."

"Jack," said the General, "what was the situation before you came through the gate?"

Jack took a deep breath and paused. His eyes focused on the General this time. "There was an al'kesh coming, it had destroyed a good bit of the city. It headed straight for the gate though. I don't know what the Tollan's were doing while the kids were evacuating. There were at least thirty of them left though, by the time it got there."

General Hammond nodded. "Get yourself down to the infirmary Jack, let them look you over there. I'll have Major Carter give me a preliminary briefing."

Jack thought he should have protested that, but he only nodded instead.

!!!!!

It was three days before they heard from the Tollans again; the children had already been sent through to the planet they had originally planned on. They were contacted by a man that Jack would vaguely remember from his visits to the Tollan capitol. The Tollans had taken heavy losses while evacuating their planet, though the majority of them had managed to flee. When Sam asked after Narim, they learned that he had died in the skies over Tollana.

The man had piloted the cloaked cargo ship with another three bombs in the hold. Knowing that they would not be able to follow the moving al'kesh on their own, he had flown along side one of them, and used the Tel'tak's shield to slightly destabilize the shield of the al'kesh before detonating the devices. They had been enough to destroy the ship, and to give his people a chance to escape.

In light of the devastating attack and subsequent evacuation, the new Tollan leader decided to cut ties with the rest of the galaxy. Their last public act was to send through the Stargate, and through the iris, a device that would prevent phase shifting devices from passing through the iris. Apparently they felt that it was owed to the people of Earth.


	11. 10 Dance

Disclaimer: Want it. Don't have it. Wish I did. All props to the creators of Harry Potter and Stargate.

Dance

Sam glanced over at Jack, who stood stoically as he watched the Tok'ra separation ceremony. Or rather, as he stared forward into space; Sam didn't really think that he was paying much attention. Tanith was restrained and unconscious on a stone table, a small device on the side of his neck keeping both symbiote and host unconscious. Most of the Tok'ra in the room were acting as guards though, while one other chanted out a list of Tanith's crimes in the language they shared with their enemy. For such a young goa'uld, Tanith had still managed to accumulate a large number of crimes, especially since he had first escaped the Tok'ra.

She was worried about Jack though, and Harry as well by proxy. He had been more withdrawn than usual since the massacre on Tollana, and she didn't know what to do about it. She didn't even know if there was anything she could do. He always seemed to bounce back from all of the terrible things that they had been through, and with luck, he would again.

Of course, it was not as though she had come back from Tollana unscathed. She had counted Narim as a good friend, and there had been something special about their relationship. Above everything else that had gone wrong that day, she felt the worst about his fate. For years she and her team had fought the goa'uld, surviving many times only by the skin of their teeth. There had been so many miraculous rescues and escapes; friends she had thought dead alive again. But Narim was just dead, and he was not going to come back.

The chanting was over. Sam looked up as the Tok'ra who was leading the ceremony, Karesh, began speaking in English again. It was the host, Sabin, who spoke now. On the table, Tanith regained consciousness.

"Tanith, over one year ago, you were offered to share this body, which belonged to a willing host. Since then, you have made a mockery of that gift, and every principle of the Tok'ra. Today, your host will gain his freedom back, and you will die. Do you have any last words?"

In spite of his circumstances, Tanith smirked. "The end of the Tok'ra and the Tau'ri resistance is at hand. The one I serve will gain control of the System Lords, and rule this galaxy in totality."

"Very well," said the host, "begin the execution." He said this to Teal'c, who had been granted the task of activating the extraction machine. Teal'c had stood the entire ceremony next to the control, with a zat'ni'katel pointed directly at Tanith.

"Kel'sha," said Teal'c. "Onak holka shaka. Rak'lo najaquna shel're hara kek, kal shaka mel!" He activated the machine.

Beside her, Daniel gave a quiet translation. "Let it be done. I do this for the one you killed. It is time for you to die, so go to hell."

In front of them, Tanith became unconscious again as the device on his neck activated once more. Underneath his head, a few inches of the table dissolved from the top, exposing much of the back of his head. A robotic arm seemed to target a specific point on his head before extending a comically large syringe. Sam winced in spite of herself when it pierced into the skull. There was a loud hum as the symbiote appeared to be drawn through the too small needle to appear in the glass cylinder.

Sabin walked forward (or was it Karesh?) and removed the cylinder, holding it above his head.

"**Behold,** **the traitor,**" said Karesh. He threw it to the floor and the glass broke. Tanith, now nothing but a snake, writhed in obvious panic before he died from the poisonous solution that he had been extracted into.

Beside her, Jack nodded. "Good."

!!!!!

Harry had had a good afternoon. When his friends had finally discovered that he had no idea what DDR was, it had prompted a trip to the local arcade where all of Harry's pocket money was converted into quarters. After an embarrassing start to the game, Harry had quickly become proficient at it, to his friend's amazement. Philip had wondered aloud if there was anything Harry couldn't do.

Harry replied that he couldn't sing; not that he had ever put any effort into trying. The Dursleys would never have put up with such nonsense; since gaining his freedom from them he had never felt carefree and spontaneous enough to take it up.

At five o'clock, it was time to leave. It was Thursday, and Harry got a ride from Simon's mother back home. Walking in, he was immediately set upon by an enthusiastic Jet. Jack was in the living room watching a Simpsons rerun. His adoptive father had been much more withdrawn since the destruction of Tollana, and it worried Harry a great deal.

"Hey, Jack," said Harry, "I'm home."

Jack looked up. "You got a ride from Simon's Mom?"

"Yeah," said Harry, "she gave us a ride. Um, I'm done with my homework, so I figured that I might make us some fried chicken tonight."

"That sounds fine," said Jack, who had probably intended to order out.

"Alright then," said Harry, "I'll go start that."

Walking into the kitchen, Harry began preparing the meal. Chicken came out of the freezer and into the microwave to defrost, salad fixings found their way onto the counter, and a pot of water went on the stove to boil for corn. As Harry was reaching into an overhead cabinet for a mixing bowl, he cursed his small stature when he accidentally sent a number of nested bowls crashing to the floor. Fortunately, they were plastic.

"I'm alright," he called out to Jack. "Nothing's broken."

Jack didn't reply, so Harry walked out, back into the living room.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"It's just, you never said anything, or came to check on me."

Jack looked over at him. "You said that everything was okay."

"I know, but normally you would… Look, you need to stop this," he said, suddenly bold.

"Stop what?"

"This! Being mopey all the time. Er, that is a word here, right?" Jack nodded. "Well stop it then. I know what happened on Tollana, and I know you didn't do anything wrong."

"Harry-"

"No, you just can't go on like this."

"I know that Tollana wasn't my fault, Harry. I know that I helped save Earth. I know that I helped to save a lot of Tollan lives."

"Then what's wrong?" asked Harry, even as his eyes caught a framed picture of Jack with Charlie.

Jack saw where his gaze had gone. "Harry, I don't-"

"Look, I know it was terrible-"

"Harry-"

"But this is terrible too."

"It's not that simple."

"I know that, but you still have to forgive yourself."

"It can't be done, Harry. Not for that."

"How can you say that?! How can you sit there and say that to _me_?" he demanded, thinking of his own guilt.

"Harry it's not the same."

"It is the same! And don't give me that butterfly effect tripe again. I could have stopped him, I would have saved that boy's life, but I didn't, and I have to live with that. So you don't have a choice, Jack, because I need you to do this. If you can't forgive yourself, then what hope do I have?"

Harry didn't know where all of that had come from, and he had no idea how Jack would react. There was a silence between them, punctured only by Jet's whimpers as he licked Harry's hand.

"It wouldn't be easy," Jack finally said quietly.

"Will you try?" asked Harry after another pause.

Jack nodded. "Let's um," he cleared his throat. "Let's go make dinner." Harry nodded in response and they walked into the kitchen together. "I'm proud of you, Harry," said Jack.

"You are?" asked Harry.

Jack nodded. "Three months ago, you wouldn't have said 'Boo' to me."

Harry smiled to himself. Then he remembered something. "Oh, I'm sorry for cursing."

Jack looked at him askance. "When did you curse?"

!!!!!

Time passed, and life was chaotic as usual. Harry noticed that Sam in particular was having a bad time of it. After the events on Tollana, there was her encounter with the insidious Aschen, in which she lost another friend to the enemy. That was the week that school let out for Harry. It was only a couple of weeks later that she was abducted by a man who wanted to dissect her because of her time as a host to Jolinar. Once her abduction had been discovered, it had taken two days to find her, and Harry had felt particularly useless spending his time with the scientists. He felt no better when he was called upon to heal a bullet hole in Jack's arm. Unfortunately, while searching for Sam off base, they had not been cleared to use shields.

Another month passed, and Harry had a good time working with Doctors Lee and Grahm trying to affix a shield onto non-living objects. They weren't having much luck, but it was still fascinating work. Jack was also doing well, as though being shot had put more life into him. Harry didn't understand it, but he wasn't complaining. Jack had started teaching him street hockey on rollerblades during the week preceding the Stanley Cup. His friends weren't that keen on the sport though, showing more affection for soccer and baseball.

A little over a week before Harry's tenth birthday, Jack let Harry in on the final training exercise that Lieutenant Elliot's team would be going through, though they apparently would not know that they were going through it at the time. Following a routine training exercise, Jack would lead theme to believe that there was an alien foothold situation at the SGC, and they would have to help him repel it.

"Of course," Jack said, "this is the first time we're doing the exercise with personal shields."

"Does Elliot's team get shields?" asked Harry.

"Where would the fun be in that?" asked Jack.

"But that's not really fair," said Harry.

"The odds are supposed to be stacked against them," said Jack. "That's what we expect from them. Anyway, not everyone they face will have a shield, just like most people at the SGC normally don't wear shields. It should only be their final assault that will be different."

"That's not too bad then," said Harry, "do I get to watch?"

"Better," said Jack. "How about an early birthday present?"

Harry grinned.

!!!!!

Elliot looked down at his commanding officer, who was bleeding onto the asphalt.

"Sir," said Satterfield, "you're injured, you can't do this on your own."

"Yeah, well I'm not sure if I want help from officers that I was about to wash out of the Stargate program," said the Colonel.

"Sir," said Elliot, "where's Harry?"

The Colonel paused. "He's on the base. They captured him before he was able to escape." Elliot knew he didn't have to say anything else. "Alright," said the Colonel. "You're coming, God help me. But remember, our main objective has to be the protection of this planet. Both Harry and Major Carter are important, but it won't matter if we rescue them at the cost of Earth."

"I understand, sir," said Elliot. A rescue operation was pointless if there was nowhere safe to escape to.

Normally it would have taken about twenty minutes to travel to the base and get inside. But with the Colonel's wound and the need for stealth it took them an hour to get access to one of the SGC's sublevels. Their first stop was the armory.

"Where possible," said the Colonel, "you are to use non-lethal force, these are our own people. We don't know if they're being brain washed, or controlled in some other way, but our objective is to find a way to save them. I want your intars set to maximum stun. You are to carry these pistols as backups, though," he said, handing out normal weapons. "If necessary, don't hesitate to use them. There will undoubtedly be personnel using shields. If you are in a position to shoot first, assume that everyone is wearing one. The most effective way to bypass the shield is to physically move past it and shoot within four inches of their body. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," said Elliot. The rest of his team nodded.

"Then we'll move on to Carter's lab. Head out."

!!!!!

"I want more blood. You can just slather it on."

"You're such a boy, Harry," said Sam.

"Why, thank you. Now how about some arterial spray."

Harry was up high in one of Doctor Lee's computer chairs swinging his feet as Sam applied special effects to his person.

"Trying to impress Lieutenant Haley?" asked Sam.

"Should I?" asked Harry, not quite understanding the question. "She's in on it, anyway."

"Never mind," said Sam with a slight smile.

Harry shook his head. "What else?"

"How about we simulate a sprained ankle?" She held out a pair of scissors. "I think we'll need to sacrifice the shirt."

She wound up taking off three inches from the bottom of his shirt. The material was used to tie up his left ankle. Harry wasn't particularly fond of the shirt, but complained about the sudden draft anyway.

"And finally, dirt," she said. She smeared some on his face and shoulders before mussing up his hair. "There, you look like you've been through the wars."

"Excellent," said Harry.

"Now remember, Harry," she said, "they still don't know about any of your special abilities."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I remember, Sam."

The phone on the wall rang, and Sam went and picked it up.

"Time for you to get into position," she said.

"I'm off then," said Harry. "Wish me victory."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Good luck, Harry."

!!!!!

The death toll was already up to one. Elliot had been surprised when Haley had shot the one SF, but she had made the right decision. It had been a rotten time for her intar to jamb though. It was why the weapons had not been cleared for off-world use yet. They mimicked the weapons they looked like too well, and replicated their problems somewhat more often than they usually occurred. The intar could take the form of almost any weapon. He only wished that they had had the time and materials to covert some more reliable P-90s.

He hoped that more people hadn't died. They had heard that Harry had been captured, and Major Carter had yet to be compromised. Who knew what had happened since the Colonel had received that call.

They rounded the corner to find one of the subjects of his thoughts before them. Harry was trying to bypass the card swipe on the gate room door with an immobile SF at his feet. He took in the situation.

"Harry," he called out quietly.

The boy spun around quickly, raising his shield. "Haley? Elliot?"

"Hey," said Elliot. Haley nodded next to him.

"What are you doing here?"

"We were with Colonel O'Neill when we heard about the foothold situation," said Haley.

Harry nodded and lowered his shield. "They captured me earlier. I think they wanted to run some experiments on me, or something. Anyway, they underestimated my strength, and only restrained me with zip ties." He shrugged for effect.

"What about your hand device? Wouldn't they have done something about it?" asked Elliot.

"Doctor Lee disabled it," said Harry. "I was able to fix the shield, but the rest of it can't be repaired without the proper tools. I can't even contact my ship."

Elliot held up the access card that the Colonel had given him. "I don't suppose this thing still works on that?"

The boy looked back at his the mess of wires behind him and shook his head. "That ship's sailed. To be honest, I don't really know much about this system."

Elliot nodded. "Haley."

Haley stepped forward and started assessing the wreckage. "I can make it work, sir. Give me a minute."

"You have thirty seconds," said Elliot. He looked at the boy's bloodied form. "Are you hurt?"

"Just a sprained ankle."

Elliot looked down and saw the piece of shirt that was helping to support the boy's ankle. "Any casualties?"

The kid shook his head. "I don't know. I'd grabbed a scalpel from the table next to me, but I ran out as soon as I could."

Elliot nodded, feeling bad for the kid. "How'd you take this guy out?" he asked, nudging the guy at their feet.

"Vulcan nerve pinch," Harry answered.

"No such thing," said Elliot, as Haley said, "You're not tall enough."

"There are two very useful pressure points in the neck and back, and I am too tall enough. He'll be as good as new in a few minutes."

"I'm almost done," said Haley, as Elliot shot the SF with his intar for good measure.

The Colonel's voice came over the radio, "Fall back, Elliot. I repeat, fall back."

"Sir," he said into his radio, "we're almost in."

"Your position is about to be compromised by superior numbers. Fall back to my position now."

"Understood, sir." To Haley and Harry he said, "come on, we have to go."

They met up with the Colonel, Grogan, and Satterfield in Major Carter's lab. Harry's sprained ankle had slowed him down, and he had leaned on Haley much of the way there.

"Jack!" Harry called out as they entered the room. He hobbled over to the Colonel and embraced him. He pulled back. "Are you okay? You're bleeding."

"I was about to say the same thing," said the Colonel, taking in all of the blood on Harry. "Any of this yours?"

Harry shook his head. "I've only sprained my ankle. And you're avoiding the question."

"It's just a flesh wound."

The boy looked at the Colonel exasperatedly. "You've been shot. Do we have access to a healing device?"

"Sorry, Harry. There are too many people to go through to get to one. Right now we have to shut down the gate and neutralize the device that Daniel brought back from P4X-328."

"What do we know about it?" asked Elliot. He turned to Satterfield, their linguist.

"Like I said earlier, it's seems to be a kind of Trojan horse. A gift for the 'Blessed of Athena'."

"Blessed my ass," said Grogan.

"I have a sample of blood from one of the SFs," said Satterfield. I thought there might be a hint of something in it."

"Maybe," said Haley, "I'll take a look. Or actually, Harry would probably know better than me."

"Let me see," said Harry.

Haley prepared a slide for the boy as Harry set up a microscope. It only took him a few seconds to identify the problem.

"Nanobots," said Harry. "They must work as some form of mind control, effected from the main device."

"Like on Argos," said Haley.

"That's an experience I don't want to repeat," said Jack.

"Oh?" asked Harry.

"Later," said Jack. "How do you become infected?"

"It must be from contact with the device," said Harry. "Daniel was having the non-converted brought to it. I think I know why it didn't work on Sam or me. The goa'uld markers in our blood would have protected us."

"What about Teal'c?" asked Grogan. "He looked pretty converted."

"Larval Goa'uld affect Jaffa differently than a mature symbiote will effect a host," said Elliot, remembering the lesson from his initial training.

"That's right," said Harry.

"Can we interrupt the signal from the device?" asked Satterfield.

"I've tried looking for a signal," said Haley. "There isn't anything I can see to disrupt.

"Alright," said Jack. "The device definitely has to go. We also still need to shut down that gate." The Colonel closed his eyes and grimaced as he clutched at his wound.

"Jack!" said Harry.

"Sir," said Elliot. "Are you alright."

"I'll be fine," said the Colonel with emphasis. "This has to be done now."

"Haley," said Elliot, "can you lock out the dialing computer from the Stargate if we coordinate an attack on the device at the same time? It should provide enough of a diversion."

"I could do it without the diversion," said Haley.

"Go," said the Colonel. "Take corridor C19."

"You heard the man," said Elliot, "let's head out. You," he said, pointing to the kid. "You're better off here. I know your shield won't protect you from bullets, and the Colonel needs you to look after him."

The kid grudgingly agreed, and they set off. They split up in order to access the conference room from multiple points. They had a rough plan on how to take out the four people within the conference room, assuming that they all had shields. He approached from the level below and ducked behind the metal staircase before firing a few shots at the wall.

He shouted out, "I need back up." Before firing his pistol a couple more times at the wall. He was lucky when two SFs ran down the stairs. He waited for them to get close to the bottom, and then stuck his intar through the stairs to shoot both in the calf. Only one of them had had a shield, but it hadn't stopped his weapon from pushing through before he shot the man. Rounding the stairs, he shot them both again before running up.

The first thing he saw was Grogan on the ground next to Teal'c. Satterfield was standing in General Hammonds office over an unconscious Daniel.

"What happened to you?" he asked Grogan.

"Next time, you jump onto Teal'c from the top of a spiral staircase," Grogan groaned.

Elliot pulled a block of C4 from his vest and tossed it to Satterfield. "Set the charge for thirty seconds."

He grabbed a hold of one of Grogan's arms and pulled him out of the room, through the General's office, and into the hallway beyond. Satterfield took longer than he had expected, and he saw that she was dragging Daniel behind her. They both crouched down over their charges.

"Eight seconds," said Satterfield. "Three, two, one." Nothing happened.

"What happened?" he asked Satterfield.

"I don't know; I set the charge correctly."

They both got up and ran out to the conference room. Elliot got a sinking feeling in his gut when he saw the Colonel, Major Carter, Teal'c, Harry, General Hammond, and General Kerrigan, all smiling at them.

"You might want to try C-4, next time," said the Colonel, holding up the charge. "Clay just doesn't pack the same punch."

"None of this was real?" asked Elliot, mentally reviewing everything that had happened.

"Everything from the phone call on was part of the test," said Major Carter. "Except for when Jack had to pull you in from the gateroom. SG-3 was coming in under heavy fire."

"Are they okay?" asked Satterfield as Daniel helped Grogan into the room.

"Their shields protected them from the worst of it."

"And your wound, sir?" Elliot asked the Colonel. "And Haley shot that SF."

"You've all been using blanks," said the Colonel. "And this is a rather tasty mix of corn syrup and red food dye."

"Sugar was included this time," Teal'c supplied.

"Right," said Elliot. "So, did we pass?"

"Everything you have done since you entered this base has been recorded, and we will be reviewing them before any decisions are reached. However, I am confident that you did very well."

"We kicked ass," said Grogan.

The Colonel eyed Grogan. "You may not have actually been shot this time, Grogan, but I wouldn't be so cocky with such an obvious concussion."

"Yes, sir," Grogan replied.

Elliot smiled to himself. They had kicked ass. A klaxon went off suddenly. Over the PA they heard, "Unscheduled off-world activation, General Hammond to the Control room."

General Hammond left the room as the rest of them all went to the observation window to look out. The gate was active, but the iris was not closed. Haley was in the gateroom fiddling with one of the control panels.

"She doesn't know it's not a test," Elliot realized.

Major Carter grabbed his radio and spoke into it. "Lieutenant Haley, leave the gate room now. I repeat, leave the gateroom now."

There was a sudden shower of sparks, and Haley fell back unconscious. They all rushed into the control room.

"What's happening?" Major Carter asked one of the gate technicians.

"The iris won't close, and we're getting very high amounts of gamma radiation."

"We need to evacuate this level, sir," Major Carter said to General Hammond.

While the General was ordering the evacuation, Grogan asked, "What about Haley?"

"She's already dead," said the Colonel.

Elliot felt a tight knot in the pit of his stomach. He swallowed and forced himself to move on. He followed everyone out as they effected the evacuation.

"It's the worst case scenario," Major Carter was saying. "Somehow, the Lieutenant was able to bypass our security codes. She must have done it just before the wormhole engaged. That's why we weren't able to close the iris. It can only be closed manually now, but it's a suicide mission."

"What about the shields?" asked Elliot.

"They'd be just about useless," said Major Carter.

"My shield would protect me," said Harry.

"Your shield is still out of date, Harry. You know as well as I do that it would only be the difference between a quick and painful death, and a slow and excruciating death."

"We should head up to the security station on level sixteen," said the Colonel.

As they walked on, Elliot resolved himself to what he had to do. Haley had the Colonel's access card, so he surreptitiously relieved the Major of her own before falling back from the rest of the group. He turned around and made his way down to the gate room.

He was in for a surprise though when he approached the blast doors. Once again, Harry was there, and he stood before a newly repaired card reader with an access card in hand. Elliot did not hesitate to shoot the boy with his intar. He ran up and grabbed the boy by the arm and dragged him down the hallway, so that he wouldn't be exposed directly when Elliot opened the blast door. The kid was just opening his eyes.

"No dying until you've kissed a girl, okay?" he said to the kid. He wasn't sure where the sentiment had come from. "Raise your shield, and keep it up until someone comes to get you okay?"

Harry nodded, and his hand moved to activate the shield.

"Good bye, kid." Elliot ran back down the hallway and stopped in front of the doors. He raised the access card to swipe it. This was it, he was going to die. This was a new feeling all together. He had never had this kind of certainty before. What would it be like? What would they tell his family? His mother would be crushed. She'd be safe though.

He rallied to his training and swiped the card. He ran into the room to the control panel that had shorted. Fortunately, it wasn't the manual iris control. He opened the correct panel. Inside was a large switch. He pulled it, interrupting power and triggering the Iris's failsafe mechanism. He let out a sigh of relief and turned to examine Haley. He reached down to feel for a pulse, expecting to find none. Her heart was still going strong though.

He felt hope spring up. Maybe the radiation wasn't as bad as they had thought. He looked up at the security camera in one corner. "She's still alive. We need a medical crew."

He picked up the thankfully light Haley and slung her over his shoulders, to carry her out of the gateroom.

"You can put me down now, hero," said Haley above him, as the blast panel protecting the control room rolled up.

Elliot stared in slack jawed disbelief up at the assembled SGC personnel who were all clapping for him up in the control room. 'They're all crazy,' he thought, as it finally sunk in that he was not in fact going to die.

"Lieutenant Elliot," said the General over the gate room's speaker. "Congratulations on a job very well done."

"You really can put me down now," said Haley, who had started squirming.

Elliot set her down. "You were in on it the whole time," he said, stating what was now obvious.

"You don't think they'd really let me play with the gate controls, do you?"

"I'm going to murder you."

"You should have seen what they put me through before they let me be a collaborator. You were very gallant, though."

The blast doors opened, and General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill, and Harry entered the room.

"SG teams require the commitment to go above and beyond the call of duty," said General Hammond. You've just demonstrated that, Lieutenant. I am proud to welcome you to the program."

"Thank you, sir."

"You'll have a few days leave, Lieutenant," said General Hammond, "but when you come back, you are to be assigned to SG-17 under Major Mansfield."

"I know you had it easy under me," said Colonel O'Neill, "but it won't be like that under the Major."

Elliot hoped that the man was joking, though he still had a hard time believing that the man was capable of humor.

"What about the rest of my team?" he asked.

"They all performed admirably today," said the General, "and as openings turn up, they will be placed in off world teams. However your conduct today has given you priority."

"Even though you shot a minor," Colonel O'Neill put in.

"Hey," said Harry, "you're the one that said he wouldn't have the guts to shoot the XO's son."

"Actually, I didn't hesitate," said Elliot.

"Really?" said Jack. "Good for you."

"Hey," said Harry.

"No offense," said Elliot. He smiled. He was feeling practically giddy. The endorphins that had been released when he had thought he was going to die now mixed with his relief and excitement.

"That's okay," said Harry.

Elliot looked up at the rest of his team, still standing up in the control room.

"Dinner and drinks are all on me, tonight."

!!!!!

"Jack?"

"Yeah Harry?"

"I don't want to alarm you, but there's a show about the Stargate on the TV."

Jack looked up from the sports magazine he was reading. "A documentary, or a cheesy action show?"

"Cheesy action show," Harry clarified. The thing was absolutely ridiculous. Aside from the unbelievably campy title, the characters were rather obvious caricatures of SG-1.

Jack nodded. "Don't worry, the Air Force knows about it. It's being made by an alien who's taken refuge on Earth. We figure it'll make any leaks about the actual program look like they're based off the show."

"I thought it was only Cassandra on Earth."

Jack nodded. "We don't let many stay, there's only a few others. He was a special case though; he'd been living on Earth for a few years before we found him."

"Makes you wonder if there are any more."

"Oh, I hope not," Jack said in a manner that indicated that his encounters with the show's creator weren't ones he wanted to repeat. "You ready to go out?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "But you really don't have to do anything special."

"For the last time, Harry, I want to. Besides, I'm not even going to be here on Tuesday, so your birthday has to be celebrated early, and in style."

According to Jack, the best way to celebrate a birthday was to have pie, not cake. Not that the man had anything at all against cake, it being one of his favorite foods, but this was his one of his own traditions. Thus, he was taking Harry to the restaurant that he believed sold the best pie in the area.

On the way to the restaurant, Jack brought up the subject of his schooling.

"So, Harry. Have you given any thought to what your teacher said at the end of the year?"

"About skipping Jr. High?"

"Yeah."

Harry had thought about it a lot, though he had not yet raised the subject with his friends.

"I guess," he said, "it doesn't sound that appealing."

"I think she had a good point though," said Jack. "Five years or so down the line, you might have better things to do than going to High School. You could breeze through High School in a year and take the exit exams. You could get a degree in two more years. How much longer until you could get a doctorate or two?"

"I understand that," said Harry grudgingly. "But I'm not really going to school for the education."

"Okay, but how much socializing do you actually do at school, and how much do you do after? The high school's only a block away from the Jr. High."

"I'm still worried though, what if it isn't the same, or everything changes?"

"Have you talked to your friends about it?"

Harry shook his head as they pulled into the parking lot. Jack parked and they got out.

"Well," said Jack, "you might want to find out what they think of it."

Harry nodded.

"By the way, I thought, knowing how you can be about surprises, that I should give you a five second warning that this is a surprise birthday party."

"What?" asked Harry.

Jack had a hand on his back and was leading him forward. "Four, three, two…" He opened the door and a group of people in the lobby all shouted 'surprise!'

He spotted his friends first, at the forefront of the group; their parents were dispersed through the rest of the crowd. Doctor Frasier was there too with Cassandra. Everyone came forward to greet him.

"You should see your face," said a laughing Mat.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," said Tommy. The sentiment was echoed around the room. Harry was saved from further social assault by the waitress, who took them to their tables.

"When did you plan all this?" asked Harry, as he smiled and nodded to everyone.

"Well," said Jack, "it wasn't easy. Fortunately, Philip's Mom opted to do all of the work. So you'll have to thank Mrs. Langdon."

"Wait," said Harry, "there's something else you're not telling me. Why are we here so early? It's barely five."

"Well," said Jack, "it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you so soon."

"We're going to Cyberslugger!" exclaimed Simon.

"Or we could just tell you now," said Jack.

"I told you he couldn't keep a secret," said Mrs. Trawler.

Harry started grinning. This was his first birthday party, with Jack and all of his friends there too. He wondered if this was how Dudley had always felt when everyone celebrated his birthday. Probably not, he thought, his cousin had always cared more about what everyone had brought him. Harry decided something then. He wasn't the boy under the stairs anymore, and he was going to enjoy his birthday party.

"Well hello there young man," said a waitress, standing behind him, "I hear that it's your birthday today."

"Er, no," said Harry.

"No?" asked the waitress, who started looking around the table, thinking she had gotten the wrong boy.

"I'm not ten until Tuesday," said Harry.

"Oh," said the woman, Tara, according to her nametag. "Well, that still counts, since this is your birthday party."

"Right," said Harry, "though I didn't know that it was going to be."

"Harry," said Jack, "tell the nice lady what you want to drink."

"Oh, um," he checked the menu quickly. "Root beer."

"Okay, sweetie," said Tara, "Root beer it is." She moved on down the table.

"So, Harry," said Andy. "How does a party here compare to one in England?"

"I don't know," said Harry, "I never had one before." He hadn't meant to mention that. His past life had never really come up with his friends in any detail. They all knew that his parents were dead, and he supposed that they had all thought that he had simply been adopted by Jack, as other orphans were often eventually adopted. It had never come up that he had lived for eight years with relatives who were complete jerks. Of course, his friends were outraged on his behalf when he made his proclamation.

Mat was the loudest, as usual. "Never had a birthday party before?!"

Tommy was as succinct as ever. "That's awful."

He got that and everything in between from his friends.

"Who did you live with before?" asked Mrs. Carver.

"My relatives," said Harry. "They weren't really very good with kids." He wasn't sure if he was defending his relatives or himself with that statement, or if he was just trying to get the conversation to move on."

"Well," said Ms. Young, Andy's mother, "I'm glad that you can have your first with us."

Not for the first time, Harry wondered if his parents had celebrated his first birthday. Maybe not with a party, since he wouldn't have been old enough to appreciate it, but maybe they had done something. He liked to think that they had.

Conversation flowed on, Harry's unsettling revelation left behind. The kids all stuffed themselves with items from the grill, and later they all had pie. This was after everyone sang Happy Birthday to him, including a few waitresses, another big first for Harry. After pie came present opening, which, while not entirely new to Harry, was still novel.

When they got to Cyberslugger, Harry was quickly reminded of the fact that while he had used the place as a cover before, he had never actually been there. His friends all wanted details about the place, leaving Harry only with the option of being as vague as possible. The tactic had served him well in the past, and it didn't fail him that night.

The place was huge. Aside from the large playing field, there was the very well equipped arcade room, with the promised DDR. By the end of the night, everyone was tired, even Harry. During the actual laser tag matches, Harry had thought to lead his side with actual military tactics, but found that the whole thing would quickly dissolve into chaos. He had fun though, and did very well when each player's stats were shown at the end of each game.

As often happened, Tommy's mother took him home early. His parents never let him stay out very late. The other parents that were there spent a lot of time just sitting in the dining area with Jack, letting the kids run loose.

Harry was ready for bed when they got back home. There was just one more thing for him to do.

"Jack," said Harry, stepping into the living room after having brushed his teeth for bed.

"Yeah Harry?"

"I just wanted to say that, well, tonight meant a lot to me."

"I know, Harry."

"Anyway," he said, "thank you."

"You're welcome, Harry. And remember, this is the first in a long line of birthday parties, Christmas celebrations, and… Scratch that, the Stanley cup was the first of our annual celebrations. The point is that I was happy to do it. Mrs. Langdon too, apparently."

Harry smiled. "Good night, Jack."

"Night, Harry."

!!!!!

Zipacna bowed before his master.

"My lord, I have retrieved the information that you have sought from the Tok'ra spy."

"You surprise me Zipacna." Though he spoke normally, Anubis's voice seemed to reverberate around the room.

"It was simple, my lord. Rather than interrogate the symbiote, and risk letting it kill itself and the host, I extracted it. The host was weak without it's guidance."

"You have done well. As a reward, you will be granted the task of representing my interests in the upcoming summit. You are also to gather a suitable force, and choose a worthy leader to strike against the Tok'ra rebellion."

"I thank you, my lord, for your grace. It would be an honor to represent your interests to the System Lords."

"Tell me, Zipacna. Do you think it an honor to represent me, or to stand as an equal amongst those that think they rule this galaxy? Remember, they will all soon be dead or in my service."

A/N: Fifty points to the person who catches the reference to another SciFi channel show. (No I won't call it SyFy.) Sorry for the delay, I'll try to be faster with the next chapter.


	12. 11 Assassin

Assassin

This was Secretary Lee's first time aboard Air Force One, and he had to admit that he was impressed. While his own Nimbus was much more exhilarating, the President's plane was basically a traveling White House. It was complete with a bedroom, private office, conference room, as well as an armory and a command center. That was all aside from the normal first class accommodations. Wizards had never put anything quite so impressive into the air.

"Mr. Lee." It was the President's personal assistant. "The President will see you now."

"Thank you," replied Stephen, as he got up to follow the man to President Treadmore's office. They were en route to Paris, where the President would be visiting the Louvre for the opening of a new gallery. It was all a part of a tour of Europe that the President would be making; a way of strengthening the ties between the United States and her European allies. Stephen had needed a last minute meeting with the President, and had only been able to get fit into the man's schedule by joining him on the flight.

"Secretary Lee," greeted the President when they were alone.

"Good day, Mr. President."

President Treadmore sat down behind his desk and motioned for Stephen to take a seat across from him. Stephen couldn't help but notice the file on the desk labeled EO:11905, and wondered what the President was doing that he was consulting foreign intelligence policy.

"I don't know about good, Stephen, but I always know that my day is going to be interesting when I get a visit from you."

Stephen smiled. "Well, sir, I won't be disappointing you today. I have information regarding the Sirius Black case."

"Please tell me that the man is guilty and has been spotted outside of the US."

Stephen agreed with the sentiment. In the long run, it would be a lot simpler politically if Sirius Black was just another criminal on the loose. If the man was innocent, and he was captured in the US, it would make their jobs very difficult. On the other hand, such a situation could also give them the opportunity to gain some credibility within the wizarding world.

"I'm afraid that it's not so simple. There is evidence that suggests that things didn't happen nine years ago the way the ministry thought it did."

"What did you find?" asked President Treadmore.

"We have a man within the British Ministry. Not the sort to tell us all their secrets, but for the right amount of money we got him to review some of the evidence that the ministry had collected. He then sent a copy of his own memory so that we could examine the evidence for ourselves."

"And what did you find?"

"Photographic evidence of the only piece of Peter Pettigrew that they could find: one of his fingers. The digit was completely mangled, seemingly consistent with being torn off in the explosion. However, upon close examination by a forensic specialist, we discovered that the finger had been severed before the explosion; it was almost definitely by a spell. Now, Ministry Aurors did a poor job of questioning the muggle witnesses before their memories were erased, but there was no indication that anyone had seen Black cast any kind of cutting curse at Pettigrew. Also, out of all of the curses that he could have used to do the damage that he did, none of them would have left so little of Pettigrew behind. There's more data: explosion vectors, psychological profiles; mostly just little things that don't quite add up."

"You think that Pettigrew may have faked his own death?"

"It is a possibility, but it is also third hand evidence."

President Treadmore considered the information. "Could Black have been a decoy as Secret Keeper?"

Stephen had already gone over the possibility with his own advisors. "It would depend on how the secret was shared with others. If they relied on the information being revealed verbally, then only the true Secret Keeper could disclose the information. In written form though, the hand writing could be disguised such that any person could distribute the information and thus seem to be the Secret Keeper."

"Is there any way to confirm one way or another?"

"We would either need to find someone who was told in person, or a note written by the secret keeper to find out one way or another."

"You said that the writing could be disguised."

"Yes sir, however careful examination should provide a competent wizard with the true author."

"I see. Where do you want to go from here?"

"Well sir, should we capture Black, the right thing would seem to be to ensure that he receives a fair trial. The problem is that we don't have the political weight to demand that the British give him one, and if we try to hold him here for one, it may give them an excuse to take action."

"The United States will not be bullied by any other country, Mr. Secretary; certainly not by the Ministry of Magic. Black was incarcerated for nine years without a trial. If he asks us for sanctuary, we are going to grant it until the truth is uncovered. So tell me, what do you have planned to take care of this?"

Stephen smiled. "We aren't the only people that want to win one over the British. We just need a country to be our senior partner in this, while we try to gain support from other countries. As of right now, it is not common knowledge that Black was never tried. I think that we can swing public opinion."

"What's your plan of action?"

"Well sir, it's funny that we should be going to France…"

!!!!!

_Simon actually has a nice voice,_ Harry thought as his feet flew around the DDR platform in the mall's arcade. Simon was singing along with the current sound track, and Harry was surprised that the boy actually managed to compliment the song rather well. Next to him, Mat was panting as he tried to keep up on his own platform. Why the boy had set his difficulty level to hard was beyond Harry.

"You're going to fail," said Andy.

"I'm not going to fail," Mat countered breathlessly.

"You're not going to make it," agreed Tommy.

"If you guy's don't shut up-" Mat started, before the music stopped and the word "FAILED" appeared on the screen in red over black. "Hey, I had it."

"I counted," said Andy, "you missed forty-two steps completely."

"Oh, you counted," said Mat disbelievingly.

"Well Mat, I did master the skill before kindergarten. Plus you got seven wrong in a row."

"I liked that song, Mat, why'd you pick hard?" asked Simon.

"I can already do it on standard. What's the fun without the challenge?" Mat answered.

Harry refrained from pointing out that while Mat could get a passing grade on standard; he had hardly mastered it. Instead he checked his watch.

"Guy's, it's time to go anyway," he said. "Mister Young will be waiting for us in the food court." They had agreed to meet with Andy's father at one o'clock for lunch.

"Food!" exclaimed Simon. The rest all agreed with the sentiment, and they all made their way towards the food court on the other side of the mall. Harry decided that then was as good a time as any to bring up the subject of the next school year.

"So I might not be going to school with you guys next year," he said to them during the next lull in conversation.

"What do you mean?" asked Philip. "You're not moving again, are you?"

"You can't move, Harry," said Andy, "you just got here."

"Don't be stupid guys," said Mat, "Harry didn't say that he was moving."

"You're skipping grades again, aren't you?" asked Tommy.

"Well," said Harry. "Jack thinks I should, and I could if I wanted to."

"But we wouldn't see you at recess," said Simon.

"For the last time," said Mat, "there's no recess in junior high."

"But there is snack and lunch," pointed out Philip.

"Yeah," said Harry, "but we could still see each other after school. Cheyenne Mountain High School is only a block away from Cheyenne Mountain Junior High. And weekends would be the same, and summers."

"We still wouldn't be going to the same school for two more years," said Simon.

"Er," said Harry.

"You aren't going to be in college by then, are you?" asked Tommy a little morosely.

"Maybe. I mean, I can already do college level math and science. Most of High School would just be a technicality. I could get a GED and get into a college pretty quick."

"If it's all such a sure thing," said Mat, "then why are you saying maybe?"

"Well," said Harry, "'cause I'm not sure that I want to. Like, maybe I don't want to hang out with a bunch of older kids all day. I bet they wouldn't want to hang out with me. And sure I'll be smarter than them, but they're all going to know more about life and stuff than me."

"But you'll be bored in Junior High," said Tommy, "probably more than you were in the sixth grade. Let's face it, you were literally pulling on your own hair whenever Mrs. Applegate tried to give a math lesson."

"Yeah," said Philip, "and how many languages do you already know?"

Not counting goa'uld… "Five," answered Harry. English, Ancient Egyptian, Spanish, French, and German. Thank you Sarah and Steven.

"Well you can take Chinese at the High School, like my brother."

"You guys want me to go?" asked Harry, a little disappointed.

"Course we don't want you to go," said Mat.

"But maybe you should," said Simon. "Like, you have to get your shots, even though you don't want to."

"Yeah," said Mat. "And if any High Schoolers give you a hard time, you let us take care of them."

"You'll take care of them?" Harry asked doubtfully.

"Yeah," said Mat, "just, one at a time."

"There are five of us," agreed Andy.

"That'll be the day," said Harry. "The Junior High Five, the baddest gang in town. Terrorizing lone High Schoolers."

"You better believe it," agreed Mat.

!!!!!

"So, not that I'm against the idea," said Harry, "but isn't there a law here about assassinating heads of state?" He and Jack were in the SGC commissary for lunch.

"Well," said Jack, "technically it's a small part of an executive order. We're just banking on a technicality."

"What's that?" asked Harry.

"Well the goa'uld population, counting mature symbiotes only, is too small for any one system lord to be considered a head of state. If they had only one leader it would be a different story, but there's over a dozen of them."

"Okay," said Harry, not sure how well that worked out. "You think he'll be okay?" asked Harry.

"It's Daniel," said Jack. "He'll probably die, come back to life, sprain an ankle, and then come limping through the Stargate like everything's fine."

Harry laughed and put down his sandwich. "How many times has that happened?"

"Let's see," said Jack thoughtfully. "Four times, if you count the time on Apophis's ship."

"Why wouldn't you count it?" asked Harry.

"Because," said Daniel from behind him. "That time I put myself into the sarcophagus."

"Still," said Harry, "four times?"

Daniel sat down next to him. "Well, there was the time on Abydos, shortly after Ra arrived I got hit by a staff blast. Ra revived me with a Sarcophagus. All of these deaths are from staff blasts, by the way. The next time was on the Nox home world, the Nox revived us that time."

"Wait," said Harry, "Jack died too?"

"Oh yeah," said Daniel.

"Thank you," said Jack snidely.

"You never told me you'd died," Harry said accusingly.

"Well," said Jack uncomfortably, "you never asked."

"Third time," Daniel went on, "was on Apophis's ship. I got hit in a firefight in a corridor. And the fourth time I was shot by a fake Jaffa who was protecting a suicidal princess."

"Don't forget the time your robot double got axed," said Jack.

"Hey, yours died too," Daniel rebutted.

"Well yours died first," said Jack. "Mine actually held off on the whole getting captured thing."

"How about a new rule," said Harry. "No more dying."

"Don't worry, Harry," said Jack. "Hammond beat you to it. Sam, Daniel, Teal'c and I haven't died in years."

"Hmph," said Harry, not liking the fact at all that Jack had ever died.

"We really have gotten very good at this," said Daniel.

Harry decided to change the subject, in spite of the feeling that Jack and his friends would never be safe for so long as they journeyed through the gate.

"So what are you going to be doing while Daniel's on his mission?" Harry asked Jack.

"We're going to be on Revanna with SG-17," said Jack. "The Tok'ra are going to be showing them around as a sort of Tok'ra 101."

"Lieutenant Elliot's team?" Harry asked.

"That's right," said Jack.

"How long is your mission supposed to take?" Harry asked Daniel.

"Three or four days," said Daniel, "we actually don't know any of the details yet."

"Oh," said Harry.

"We're going to wait for Daniel on Revanna until he gets back," said Jack. "Would you be okay waiting another day?"

"Yeah," said Harry, though he did not like the idea. "We've been working really hard on the designs for the fighter/interceptor, I'll probably just stay in my room here."

"Well," said Jack, "if Janet offers to have you over, you accept, alright?"

"Sure," said Harry.

"Time to go?" asked Daniel.

Jack checked his watch. "Yes." He got up to go get ready. "I'll see you again before we leave," he told Harry.

"Okay," said Harry, glad that for however long they would be gone, Jack would be safe on Revanna.

!!!!!

"I've got to say, Harry, I don't see how well the X-302 would do against death gliders without plasma weapons," said Doctor Holmes. "There are only so many missiles that it can carry."

It was Wednesday evening. Harry, Doctor Lee, Doctor Grahm, and Doctor Holmes were all sitting around a worktable, going over various proposed designs for the X-302. Harry shook his head. "If we want the X-302 to be made anytime soon, you won't be able to have plasma weapons. Face it, Earth just doesn't have the technology to make them. Not for the battlefield, and certainly not for a dogfight. Now you may only have a few missiles available on each fighter, but the small rail guns that Area 51 have proposed will still be able to do considerable damage to a death glider."

"I still say that it would be better to equip the X-302 with something more akin to a bank of RPGs, rather than just missiles," said Lee. "There have been numerous incidents of death gliders being taken down by simple grenade launchers."

"And even more instances of death gliders not being taken down by an RPG," said Doctor Grahm. "There's a reason why they don't already use RPGs in fighters."

"Well maybe we have the technology now to make it a viable option," said Lee. "Inertial dampeners, crystal based guidance."

"You're talking about something tiny," said Harry. "Even if you can make the technology small enough, would it be feasible to equip every plane we make with, say, twenty each? How quickly would we go through them?"

"I think both Doctor Lee and I are concerned about how much good four missiles are going to do against a fleet of death gliders," said Doctor Holmes.

"Well that's why you build a fleet of fighters," said Doctor Grahm.

"Doctor Grahm is right," said Harry. "One on one, a missile can be a superior weapon compared to a plasma cannon. Also, there's the possibility of giving them larger ordinances."

"What do you mean?" asked Doctor Lee.

"I mean let's not just take out one bird with one stone."

"You mean explode a large ordinance amidst multiple death gliders?" asked Doctor Grahm.

"Exactly," said Harry, "a lot of Jaffa flying formations call for their gliders to be close together."

"What about a zero point generator?" asked Doctor Holmes.

"You mean weaponize it?" asked Lee.

"Why not?" asked Doctor Holmes.

"We still haven't gotten them to power themselves," said Doctor Lee. "they'll take too much power. And it's not like we're in a position to mass produce them. We still only have two."

A voice came over base speakers. "Doctor Lee to the gateroom," Sergeant Walter's voice said before he repeated himself.

"I guess I've got to go," said Lee, getting up and making his way to the door.

Once he was gone Harry asked the others, "Why do you think they called for him? He usually just stays in his labs?"

Doctor Grahm shrugged his shoulders. Doctor Holmes replied, "I don't know Harry. Maybe they need him to prepare a UAV."

"They do that all the time without him," said Harry.

"Sergeant Siler oversees the UAVs," said Doctor Holmes, "but he's been out with the flu for a couple days, and Doctor Lee's the only other person that I know of who's qualified to prep one for launch."

"There's only two people on the base who can launch a UAV?" asked Harry.

"Nah," said Doctor Holmes. "But UAVs are expensive, and unless it's an emergency, only Siler and Lee are allowed to oversee their launching."

"Let's talk about shields," said Doctor Grahm, changing the subject.

"Shields?" asked Harry.

"If we could affix a shield to the fighters, it would give them a strong tactical advantage."

"We still haven't been able to pin it to non-organic materials," said Harry.

"Yes, and that's why I think we should give up on trying," said Doctor Grahm.

"You're contradicting yourself," said Doctor Holmes.

"No I'm not," said Doctor Grahm, "who says we have we have to pin it to something inorganic?"

"What do you mean?" asked Harry. "I don't think we could get a shield to radiate far enough out from a pilot."

"Oh," said Doctor Holmes, "are you suggesting something like algae?"

Harry's eyes widened at the implication. "You're kidding. What, just paint it on?"

"Why not?" asked Doctor Grahm.

"Well I could see how we would apply it," said Doctor Holmes, "but not how to sustain it in space."

"It's not feasible," said Harry, "but you wouldn't need to cover the thing, anyway. The shields radiate a foot and two point three inches away from the source, whatever the size. We could have enclosed pockets of some sort of living tissue dispersed around the plane."

"Could the shield be applied through the hull?" asked Doctor Grahm.

"I think it could," said Harry.

"The shield radius may be constant," said Doctor Holmes, but shield strength isn't. We would have to balance strength with practicality."

"Well let's run some numbers and see what we come up with," said Doctor Grahm.

They worked in a more subdued manner then, each with their own laptop running simulations. A quarter of an hour passed before Doctor Lee returned looking distracted.

"UAV?" asked Doctor Holmes.

"What?" asked Lee. "How did you know?"

"Logical assumption," Doctor Holmes replied.

"Jack was supposed to report in," said Harry distractedly, half his attention still on the screen in front of him. "Did you hear anything from him?"

"The Colonel? No one mentioned him."

"What's got you distracted?" asked Doctor Grahm? "Where'd they need a UAV?"

"Nowhere special," said Lee, "they just weren't able to send a MALP."

Doctor Holmes suddenly focused on Lee. "I've been playing poker with you for two years," he said, "I know when you're bluffing. What are you hiding?"

Harry looked suspiciously up at Lee.

"Guys, I'm not hiding anything. We all have the same clearance here."

"You're not hiding from them," Harry accused, "you're hiding something from me. What's wrong?"

"Harry, I can't tell you."

"Yes you can," said Harry dangerously, "and I can fly my ship to Revanna to find out for myself."

"Harry, there's no need to be hasty," said a worried Lee.

"I'm out of here."

"Wait," said Doctor Lee, "I'm sure he's fine. Tok'ra tunnels are very hard to find."

"What did you see?" asked Harry.

"We lost contact with the MALP," said Lee. "The UAV saw close to fifty Jaffa before it was shot down. We never managed to make contact with anyone."

Harry nodded to himself, his mind going a mile a minute.

"You're not going to do anything rash are you?" asked Doctor Lee.

"Do any of you know," asked Harry, "where the Tok'ra base is in relation to the Stargate."

"No," said Lee, "none of us know."

Harry looked to the other two. "Harry," said Doctor Holmes. "You should stay here."

"It's in the base computer, isn't it?" he asked.

"Colonel O'Neill wouldn't want you to go after him," said Doctor Holmes in a manner that only confirmed Harry's suspicion.

"There's only one person who can tell me not to go," said Harry, "and he's not here right now."

He turned around to the desktop computer behind him, which was hardwired into the base's computer system. He placed a hand on it, seeking out the information he needed.

"Harry," Lee said from behind him, "they don't know where the base is, they always go in by rings."

The file he was looking for popped up on the screen, though Harry didn't need to read it to know what it said.

"They might not know exactly where it is," he said, "but they do have a pretty good idea."

With that, he disappeared into a point of light that shot through a micro hyperspace window. Less than a second later he was aboard his ship, powering up its main systems. It felt good to be aboard his ship, in spite of the numerous negative memories associated with it. With his ship, he could do whatever he wanted, whenever. And right now he wanted to go get his father. The correct course put in, Harry sent the ship hurtling though hyperspace.

!!!!!

Jack hated running from death gliders. It was a good thing that they had terrible aim. An eruption from behind them threw Teal'c and himself to the ground. Aldwin, who had been farther behind them, was thrown through the air. The man's impact with the ground was awkward, and Jack recognized the effect of the personal shield. Apparently, the Tok'ra had made a couple generators of their own. When the attack had begun, the Tok'ra started giving everyone they could a shield, though both generators had since been destroyed in cave-ins. Neither Jack nor any of his people had managed to get one, and their own had worn off a day and a half ago.

Teal'c was the first to reach Aldwin, and he rolled the Tok'ra over to examine him.

"He is alive, but unconscious," he announced.

"We'll cross our fingers that he doesn't have a spinal injury," said Jack as he started to pick the man up by an arm. Teal'c took the other and then they were running towards the ring platform again. Jack didn't know how they could get out of this one. There were hundreds of Jaffa troops on the surface, and who knew how many Al'kesh making bombing runs over Revanna. Apparently the Tok'ra hadn't been clever enough to keep a few cloaked cargo ships waiting somewhere on the planet. Jack meant to have a talk with them about setting up secret bases when he had a chance. If the Tok'ra survived the day; if he did.

There were countless operatives scattered across the galaxy, of course, and who knew how many smaller satellite bases. The Tok'ra hadn't survived two thousand years by putting all of their eggs in one basket. He only hoped that this attack wouldn't cripple them.

They finally reached the hidden ring platform among the trees and Jack pulled the control device from Aldwin's small satchel. He used it to activate the rings and the world disappeared in a flash of white.

!!!!!

Harry spent the journey to Revanna in meditation, his mind inserted into his ship's mechanics. It seemed like forever since he had been traveling with an injured Jack back to Earth. He had changed the ship's hyperdrive system then to be much more efficient. It hadn't been his only idea for improving the ship, and now he was putting them into effect. Weapons, shields, inertial dampeners, maneuvering engines; they all stood to be improved, and he did not have enough time to do everything he wanted. He did what he could though. It was a couple of minutes before he was set to arrive at Revanna that he realized that he had no real plan of attack.

Harry thought furiously. Lee had said that there were numerous al'kesh bombing the surface, but how many ha'taks had made the journey with them. He thought that perhaps he could destroy an al'kesh, but no matter what he did to the weapons, his ship was thousands of years old. There was only so much he could do against even one mothership. He would have to be more clever than he ever had before.

The moment his ship dropped out of hyperspace, Harry channeled all of the energy suddenly available into his weapons and he fired upon the closest ha'tak. There were three of them that he could see. There would likely be at least another somewhere hidden by the planet. Even while the ha'tak he was firing upon turned to face him, as well as one other, Harry had his attention on scanning the surface of the planet, looking for just the right coordinates… there.

He diverted power from the weapons into the shield before he entered one last command into his ship and disappeared. He could already see the massive bolts of plasma rushing to his ship as the world went dark. Two seconds later, his shaking ship disappeared as well, a short trip in hyperspace taking it just far enough away for the goa'uld to lose easy sight of it.

The al'kesh he appeared in was better lit than his own ship, and he blinked quickly. There were three Jaffa in the room, one seated pilot, and the other two manning backup systems. The pilot was the only one without a staff. He had already gained the attention of the Jaffa, and the two standing had already turned to face him. Their plasma weapons would pass right through his shield, so he let his shield drop as he slung a ball of plasma at the one further away. He wasted no time in rushing up to the other, getting too close for the Jaffa to point his staff at him. He ducked as the Jaffa swung his staff at him, and then sprung up, his hand darting out to crush the man's wind pipe.

The pilot could ignore him no more, and turned to face him with a Zat. Harry raised his shield, and allowed the blue energy to wash over it harmlessly. Harry reached out with his mind and pulled the weapon out of the man's hand. Grasping the handle, he fired at the Jaffa, rendering him unconscious. Harry avoided looking at the Jaffa, two of them now lifeless, as he took the pilot's place at the controls. He pushed himself into the al'kesh's computer and closed both doors to the bridge, not wanting any other Jaffa who might be on the ship to be able to interrupt him.

Harry brought up the display and found the nearest al'kesh. Changing his ship's course, Harry directed it on an intercept course. The enemy al'kesh tried to hail him, but Harry ignored it and opened fire. Al'kesh weren't very maneuverable in atmosphere, and the other al'kesh was in no position to defend itself. It was a quick battle. Harry avoided thinking of the lives he was taking. His father was underground somewhere on this planet, and Harry would do what ever it took to keep from losing him.

!!!!!

"Did you see that?" asked Daniel.

"See what?" asked Jacob from the cloaked cargo ship adjacent to his own.

They were sitting, waiting at the edge of the Revanna system for some sign that there was something they could do to help the Tok'ra under attack on the planet. Daniel had learned of the attack at the summit, shortly after he had activated the device that had killed all of the system lords. He wished that he could have had more time to gather information, but Zipacna had shown up unexpectedly, and the goa'uld would have recognized Daniel.

"It looks like a ship just exited hyperspace in the distance."

"**Where**?" asked Selmak.

"Ten o'clock," answered Daniel, "maybe fifteen degrees up."

"**Scanning**," came the reply.

"What do you see?" asked Daniel.

"It is not distinct enough," said Jacob. "My computer doesn't recognize it. Whatever it is, it's bigger than a cargo ship and smaller than an al'kesh."

That sounds familiar, Daniel thought. "Let's get a closer look at it," he said aloud. "Whatever it is, it can't see through our cloaks, right?"

"It's better than sitting here doing nothing," Jacob agreed.

They both slowly set their ships to intercept the unidentified craft. It took them a few minutes before they reached the ship at sublight speeds. It didn't take Daniel long to recognize it. Selmak spoke up first.

"**A ship like this has not been seen in over a thousand years. This one seems to be older than perhaps even the Tok'ra.**"

"Yeah," said Daniel, "I recognize it."

"Osiris' ship?" asked Jacob.

"Harry's now. Though what he's doing here, I don't know."

"He must have learned of the attack," said Jacob. "I'm not reading any life signs."

Daniel immediately feared the worst. "Has the ship taken damage?"

"Minor damage," Jacob said, "not enough to have killed him. I'd bet he's on the planet right now."

"Then he must have some kind of a plan," said Daniel, "something we can help with."

"Just because he's got superpowers doesn't mean he's thinking rationally. He's what, ten? He's a child who's emotionally dependent on Jack not dying. He'll go in with or without a plan."

"Are you telling me you aren't in the same position he's in?" There was silence for a minute. Daniel could imagine Jacob arguing in his head with Selmak.

"**Okay**," Selmak finally said, "**here's the plan**."

!!!!!

Crystals were falling from the ceiling. Any moment now it would all come crumbling down on top of them. None of them had shields, though they wouldn't have done them much good. Sam took back that thought. There were a number of Tok'ra in the room whose shields had failed, yet had still saved their lives as parts of the base fell down on them. The shield's would fail, but not before breaking the momentum of the large crystals falling upon the wearer. Most of the Tok'ra still alive were heavily injured.

Suddenly the shaking stopped, and miraculous silence rang out. It didn't last long.

"Major Carter," called out Elliot from across the lab they were holed up in.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" she replied.

"It's Major Mansfield, ma'am. The rock's, they weren't that big, but-"

"What's his condition, Lieutenant?"

"He's dead."

Sam nodded resignedly. The Major had already been in critical condition.

"Major!" Ren Al this time, from close by. She turned and immediately saw the problem. The tank holding Lantash was broken, most of the liquid it held was spilled on the ground. "He will not survive long like this," the host told her.

"What can we do?" Sam asked.

"There is only one thing to do," said Ren Al.

Sam's eyes widened at the implication. Lantash was a friend, and she truly wanted to save him, but "I can't…" she said. She couldn't go through that again.

"But I can." Elliot again. Suddenly it seemed that all eyes were on him.

"Lieutenant," she said, surprised, "are you sure."

"Well, it wouldn't be my first choice, but if there's no other option, then yes. I'm sure ma'am."

"You must be certain," said Ren Al grimly. "He is too weak to use you simply as a way station and then leave. You will have to be blended."

Elliot crossed the room. He looked scared, and Sam couldn't blame him. His voice was steady though. "I understand," he said. "Too many have died today. My whole team. I won't let him die if I can help it."

"So be it," said Ren Al. Gently, she reached into the tank and delicately pulled Lantash out. With both hands, she proffered him up to Elliot, who gulped before opening his mouth. Recognizing what was happening, Lantash rushed forward, disappearing in less than a second into Elliot. Elliot staggered and then sagged to his knees.

"The blending will be hard," said Ren Al, "Lantash is so weak." She caught him as he fell to the floor. "They will be alright in time. Both of them."

"Only if we can get them out of here," said Sam.

"We will be able to move him, even during the blending. With the host's body in good condition, it will not harm them."

"Yes, but move them to where?" asked Sam.

"An excellent question, Major. Perhaps we will be able to form a plan of action once we discover why the attack has seemingly stopped."

!!!!!

Harry had jumped ship again. When the goa'uld leading the attacks had realized that one of his al'kesh was attacking his forces he had diverted everything he had towards it. Al'kesh had terrible shields within atmosphere; they had bad shields in general. Though the al'kesh he was in, as well as the three he had previously been forced to abandon, had much better shields than he had expected.

Every time he jumped to a new al'kesh, two hundred miles or more from his previous ship, and took it over he found himself swarmed with death gliders before he could do too much damage, and other al'kesh eventually got into position to fire on him from above. He wasn't able to do much damage at all to the death gliders or al'kesh, but he didn't have to. His presence aboard a ship ensured that his enemies destroyed it for him. Ten death gliders had already taken hits from al'kesh firing at him. What's more, as long as they were firing at him, they weren't firing on the planet, and where he could, Harry took the opportunity to fire at ground troops.

It was chaos, and Harry knew that at any moment the game could change, with him not knowing how to respond. Already he had been stabbed in his left forearm; a defensive wound he had taken preventing the knife from going into his neck. The blade had nicked one of his veins, but his healing abilities had slowed the bleeding well enough. His arm still wasn't working very well though.

Alarm klaxons started wailing and lights began to flash as his shields buckled. Harry sighed and checked the coordinates of the next al'kesh before closing his eyes and making the jump.

!!!!!

"We've been detected," Jacob shouted over the comm. "I'm entering the atmosphere, remember the plan."

Because the hyperdrive could not run at the same time as the cloak, it was necessary for Daniel's ship to be carried through hyperspace by Jacob's ship. In order to fool the goa'uld, Daniel would remain cloaked so that it would appear that only one ship had arrived.

Jacob's ship had already cloaked again and was heading to the planet, leaving Daniel free to evade the wild shots from the ha'tak around the planet. He positioned himself to run scans over the planet, trying to get a good idea of what was happening.

"What the hell?" He sent his sensor readings to Jacob. Jacob had said that the Tok'ra didn't have any ships available to escape or fight with, but there was an al'kesh on the planet fighting everyone else. His scanners showed the wreckage of a handful of other al'kesh.

"Okay," he said to himself, "Harry's good."

Selmak's voice came over his speakers. "**I have made contact with the survivors. They are making their way to the secondary ring platform.**"

"What do we do?" asked Daniel.

"There are too many ships between us and the platform. Any one of them might try to intercept the matter stream. There'll be two groups, and we'll have to get in close. I've already got a tail, a couple death gliders. I'll have to go in first. You pick up the second group."

"Got it," said Daniel.

"I'm sending you the signal you'll need to send them when you're in position," said Selmak.

Daniel flew down into the planet's atmosphere, hoping that everyone else was too busy to detect his ship's heat signature.

!!!!!

Considering that all of the goa'uld forces around the planet were busy trying to kill him, Harry was quick to notice when half a dozen death gliders broke off to chase a heat signature. _It's about time,_ he thought to himself. He had tried to contact the Tok'ra base below, but he had been unable to make a connection with any of their equipment. He frowned to himself. The al'kesh was a formidable ship, but in the atmosphere of a planet it was only good for bombing and troop deployment. He had made a good distraction, but if he wanted to aide this apparent rescue attempt, he would need a different ship.

Harry took himself into hyperspace and found himself inside his own ship once more. He got into the pilot's seat and jumped into hyperspace once more, coming out with a great tremor as the ship came out on the edge of the planet's atmosphere. It had barely been half a minute since he had first noticed the cloaked ship evading death gliders. He dove down toward those gliders, arming his weapons and firing upon them. It was only a few seconds later that he was taking fire from other gliders coming in from a distance. Coming more slowly from behind them were what was left of the al'kesh.

While trying to intercept the fleeing cargo ship, Harry tried to open a communications channel between them. It took a while to make a secure connection with the cloaked ship, but he managed to get Jacob's face on the screen in front of him.

"Harry," the man addressed him. "I can't say that I'm happy to see you."

"So just tell me what I can do to help," said Harry.

"Give me your shield frequency," said Jacob, "and keep these guys off of me. I'm uncloaking now."

With his ship uncloaked, the death gliders following Jacob now had an easy target to aim at. Two of the remaining fighters continued to fire at him, while another turned to face Harry. He took a few hits from the glider, but it was easily shot down. The two death gliders trailing Jacob were harder to aim at though, even as they managed to score a couple of hits on the cargo ship. Harry heard his ring platform engage shortly before the cargo ship was destroyed. By now, the majority of the goa'uld fleet on Revanna was around them, and it was all Harry could do to keep from being shot out of the sky.

Moments later, Jacob rushed into the room and took the copilot's chair. "Go to these coordinates," he told Harry, his fingers flying across the control panel. "There's a ring platform there." He continued working, and soon Daniel's face was on the screen.

"Daniel," said Jacob, "you're going to have to make the first run. We'll keep them off your back."

"Got it," said Daniel. Moments later, Daniel's cargo ship decloaked and a matter stream connected him briefly with the ground. As soon as it was done, Daniel's ship cloaked again, and Harry's sensors showed a heat trail making it's way towards space.

"I'll give them the signal to ring up," said Jacob, "but you have to be closer to that platform than everyone else."

"Okay," said Harry, but even as he tried to move into position, other ships were positioning themselves between them and the platform. Whether they were trying to attack the platform or intercept the matter stream, Harry didn't know. Rather than defending himself from the ships coming in from above though, he focused his fire on the two al'kesh that had gotten between him and the platform. One of them had already been damaged during the fight earlier and exploded violently, but Harry's own ship shook violently as he lost weapons. A shower of sparks overhead told Harry that it wasn't the only system that had taken damage.

"They're opening fire on the planet," said Jacob.

Harry didn't reply. There was only one thing left to do as he swooped down towards the ground, using the planet's gravitational pull to help accelerate. He leveled off, and hurtled over the trees, less than a hundred feet off the ground, until he was between the al'kesh and what was left of the platform. The ship continued taking fire."

"The surface platform is gone," said Jacob, "but the relay to the tunnel's rings is still there." He sent a message in text to the planet, and a moment later, the ring platform activated behind them.

Harry shouted out, "Hold on for extreme acceleration." This close to the planet's surface, entering hyperspace would be brutal, but he didn't think he could make it out any other way. Even with his ship under attack, he still waited another second to let everyone situate themselves before sending his ship hurtling into hyperspace. He and Jacob were pushed back in their chairs, and behind him, he could hear numerous grunts and thumps.

The acceleration ended after a couple of seconds, and Harry finally allowed himself to relax a little, going so far as to close his eyes. He heard Jack's disbelieving voice from behind him.

"Harry?"

He turned his chair around to face the man, but before he could say anything, the ship shuddered before falling out of hyperspace. He turned back to face the control panel and his face fell when he realized that the ship had taken too much damage. It wouldn't be going anywhere, anytime soon.

!!!!!

Secretary Lee didn't like French restaurants. Sure the food was good, but it was a very different atmosphere than what he was used to. Still, a good politician had to keep such feelings to himself. He kept a smile on his face as he was shown to his table. The undersecretary to the French Minister of Magic was already seated, a full wine glass and a breadbasket having already been delivered to him.

"Monsieur Renée," he greeted the man. "Comment allez-vous aujourd'hui?" he asked as he sat down across from him.

The man waved his hand. "S'il vous plaît," he said. "Speak in English." His accent was thick but understandable. "I cannot bear to hear you butcher our language."

"Very well, Mister Renée. I hope I find you well this evening."

"You find me intrigued, Secretary Lee," the man said. "You enter our country aboard a muggle aircraft, and then you ask for a covert meeting, out of the way. I pray that you have not wasted my time."

"I think that you'll find that this has been well worth your time." A waiter stepped up and placed a glass of wine in front of him.

"Le repas sera prêt sous peu," the waiter said.

Lee resisted the urge to roll his eyes, having found that the under secretary had ordered for him. An impatient man.

"You have something to show me?" the man asked.

"I do," said Lee. "Pictures. Though they aren't what we should be looking at before a meal."

"We French have hearty stomachs," Renée said. "Tell me what this is about."

"Sirius Black," said Lee. "You may not be aware, but the man that the British have a kiss-on-sight order out on never received a trial. What's more, we have evidence that indicates that he may have been framed."

"And your interest in this is what?" asked Renée, but Lee could already see the glint in the man's eyes that betrayed his own interest.

"The United States has always been interested in justice," said Lee. "Though of course, in complex political situations such as these, there is always something to be gained. Especially when someone can be found to have made a drastic mistake."

The French undersecretary smiled. "Show me this evidence that you have. You have a plan, yes?"

!!!!!

Reshep quivered before his master. He had been picked by Zipacna to lead the attack on Revanna; the attack which had failed to take any prisoners or recover the formula for the poisonous gas that the Tok'ra had developed. That Zipacna had died, leaving him to take all of the blame made things worse.

"My lord," he said as meekly as he could manage. "The only Tok'ra we recovered intact enough to be revived had sustained too much brain damage to be of any use."

"Tell me how you have failed me so badly when a simple Jaffa could have led this attack successfully."

This was his first time meeting Anubis, and now he wished that he never had. The goa'uld's reputation had survived even after the System Lords had quashed all mention of him. The goa'uld was worse than his reputation.

"My lord, they found a way to turn our own ships against us. One by one, our al'kesh began attacking our forces. Sensor readings showed that a small hyperspace window would appear in each shortly before they were turned."

"Hyperspace window's do not cause ships to turn sides."

"Of course, my lord. The incident was preceded by a lo'tak vessel, which dropped out of hyperspace near the planet and briefly engaged the ha'tak there before fleeing."

"Show me your sensor readings."

Reshep felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Anubis would not blame him for his failure. He handed a data crystal to a Jaffa, who inserted it into one of the control panels in the room. A moment later, the data was showing on the screen. Anubis studied it.

"Osiris," was all he said before he walked away. Reshep let out a sigh of relief.

"Kill him," said Anubis before he stepped through the doorway.

"No!" Reshep cried out as the staff weapons of the Jaffa guards activated around him.


	13. 12 Endangered

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated in any way with Harry Potter or Stargate SG-1.

Endangered

**Sirius Black Defended!!**

In a shocking press conference in France yesterday, it was revealed that the magical governments of France, Germany, Spain, Egypt, and the United States have all declared that they would no longer be willing to turn over Sirius Black to the Ministry of Magic, should he be caught. The conference took the world by surprise, with no hint that such collaboration was in the works. Even more surprising is their contention that Black never received a trial. In the words of the French Minister of magic Laurence Lauron, "We will no longer aid the people of Great Britain in this miscarriage of justice."

Even more shocking, when asked why her country would be willing to fight for Mr. Black's right's, Germany's Magical Chancellor Eva Koenig revealed that evidence had come to light which indicated Black's innocence. This reporter was at first skeptical of such a claim; it is well known that Sirius Black is one of the most infamous criminals from the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. However, let us not forget that at the time of Mr. Black's imprisonment, our very own government was in chaos. Records do show that Mr. Black was sent strait to Azkaban after his arrest, with only the witness testimony of confused and terrorized muggles against him. Those muggles were of course obliviated long ago.

Frankly, the chance that Sirius Black is innocent is small. But I hope that I am not alone in feeling a sense of outrage at our government. It was in Great Britain that Common Law was developed, and it was in Great Britain that Sirius Black was wrongfully imprisoned in our most foul prison not nine years ago.

Others though, don't appreciate the goal of this five-country coalition. "[Black] is an evil wizard," said Penelope Terrence. "I don't care if he gets the Kiss. It's no business of these other countries what we do here." One young wizard, Jacob Lee, echoed her sentiments in part. "I really don't like that other countries are getting involved in this… But at the same time, we have laws in this country, and I don't think that our own government should be breaking them."

The general sentiment has been that Black is as guilty as sin. But in such a civilized country, we take comfort from our laws. The people have spoken: let Black have his trial, and let justice be done. But above all, don't let someone else do it!

!!!!!

Jack could only stare at Harry as the ship fell out of hyperspace. Harry turned back to face him.

"Jack," said Harry, clearly nervous, though a hint of exhaustion shone through. "I need to look at the hyperdrive system to see what's wrong."

He made to move past him but Jack clamped a hand on Harry's shoulder, in part because he had just seen the large stab wound that seemed to go between the ulna and the radius of Harry's forearm.

"For crying… your arm, Harry."

"It's nothing," said Harry quickly. "The vein was nicked, but it's mostly closed, and the rest of it isn't bleeding that much."

Jack, still a little wide eyed, pulled a large bandage out from his vest and started wrapping it snugly around the wound. He had stared down the face of death more times than he could count, but he didn't know how to handle this.

"Thanks," said Harry. He cleared his throat. "Um, I'm pretty sure we're in goa'uld territory right now, so I really need to get the engines working."

"Sam," said Jack. The major was just now coming out of the ring room. "Help him repair the engines.

"Yes sir," said Sam, who looked as surprised as he was to find Harry.

Jack watched them leave the room. He rounded on Jacob.

"What the Hell is he doing here?"

"I don't know Jack," said Jacob, "but if I had to guess, I'd say he was here to rescue you."

"Oh you guess," said Jack. "Why didn't you stop him?"

"I'd like to know what chance I had of managing that. We were parked just out of sensor range of Revanna when Harry parked his ship a little over a thousand kilometers away. When we realized that he wasn't aboard, we went to the planet to see what we could do to help. You're welcome, by the way."

"Fine," said Jack. "Exactly, what did he do back there?"

"I can't be sure," said Jacob, "but it seemed like he was jumping from one al'kesh to the next, taking them over and fighting them against each other."

It became clear suddenly how Harry's arm had been stabbed, as well as how he had received the various bruises that spotted his body. He swore.

"He did save you all," said Jacob.

That didn't make him feel any better.

!!!!!

"Harry," said Sam, "what are you doing here?"

Harry pulled his head back from the drawer of crystals that he had been working with. Two Tok'ra were in the room working on the engines with them, but they went on working.

"Saving you," he said. Well, technically just Jack, but the more the merrier, of course.

"Yeah, I got that, Harry. You're still not supposed to be here."

"I know," said Harry. "I know I'm in trouble. But I couldn't just sit back and do nothing. I mean, what do you think your chances of survival were? There were hundred's of Jaffa guarding the gate, and who knows how many ships guarding the skies. Could you have gotten out of there?"

"I don't know, Harry." Probably not.

"So yeah," said Harry. "I did what I needed to, to save him." The boy turned back to his work.

"It'll kill him if anything happens to you, Harry."

He looked up at her with haunted eyes before turning back to the crystal he was trying to replace.

!!!!!

The engines working once again, Harry had no excuse not to seek out Jack. Harry had not been this nervous in a while. Certainly not since he had been adopted. Still, he had no regrets. He walked out into the control room and walked up to Jack, who was standing behind Selmak's seat.

Jack looked down at Harry, emotions warring on his face. Finally he said. "We need to talk." Harry nodded. "But there's injured Tok'ra, and they don't have a healing device. You up to it."

Harry considered it. He had done a lot, and the physical fighting had been the least of it. Every jump through hyperspace had been taxing. But he nodded again. "I've got a couple in me. Where are they?"

"Ring room," said Jack. "We didn't want to move them."

"Okay," said Harry, unsure whether to feel relieved or not. He hurried over to the ring room. There were a half dozen wounded Tok'ra in the room, being tended to by more Tok'ra. Harry saw Elliot laid out in a corner, though the man did not seem to be injured. He approached one of the Tok'ra, a woman whom he had never met.

"I'm Harry," he said to her. "I can heal some of the injured."

She smiled at him. "Of course," she said. "We all know of your abilities. My name is Ren'al. Come, Aldwin is hurt the worst. He has a severe concussion, and likely more damage to the rest of his body. He alone has yet to regain consciousness."

Harry knelt down beside the body and held out his hands over the Tok'ra's head. He pushed out his energy, mimicking the effect of a healing device. It was worse than a concussion. The brain was swelling up against the skull, with no way of relieving the pressure. The symbiote within the man was unconscious as well, having suffered from the same trauma as the host. Moving down, Harry found significant damage to the spinal cord.

Harry doubted that he could heal everything completely in one go, but he was confident that he could heal host and symbiote well enough for the symbiote to take care of the rest. He started on the swelling, healing the damage that had caused the inflammatory response before forcing the cardiovascular system to return to it's normal functioning. This helped to alleviate some of the stress on the spinal column as well. He moved on to the symbiote, where the damage was negligible, though all the harder for the symbiote's small size. He pulled back a few minute's later, feeling as weary as he had when the battle had first ended.

He stood up slowly and turned to the Tok'ra who had led him to Aldwin. "He'll be okay in time," he told her.

"Then you have my gratitude," she said. "You are obviously weary though. You would not want to worsen your next patient's condition."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, "I need a rest." A snack would be good too. He walked out of the room, towards the living area. There should still be plenty of food held in stasis; for all that most of it was thousands of years old. If he was lucky, there was still some food left over from the mission to rescue Sarah. Jack was in the room waiting for him; Harry stopped short.

"I figured that you'd need some food," said Jack. There was a glass of juice on the table in front of him, and a plate with some bread and cheese.

Harry cleared his throat. "Jack, about me-"

"Not now," said Jack. "We'll get to that, just eat."

It felt more like a last meal to Harry, rather than a snack. Worries went through his mind a mile a minute as Jack watched him eat woodenly. When Harry was done, Jack motioned to the door with his head.

"Lets go to your room," he said, "it's more private."

Harry squared his jaw as they walked to the bedroom that Harry used for himself. Jack pointed to the bed and Harry sat down on it.

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked, his stomach tied in knots.

"What I'm going to do," said Jack levelly, "is ask you a question. No," he corrected himself, "I'm going to demand an answer. Explain to me what you're doing here."

Harry sighed, going through the words he had been working on since the battle had ended. "I can handle not knowing what's happening to you," he said. "I don't worry when you go through the gate, and you face off against the goa'uld. I guess I take things as they come. But I knew enough today, about what was happening on Revanna, to know that you didn't have a chance. I couldn't let you die."

"Yes," said Jack pointedly. "You could have."

"Jack-" Harry started.

"My blood before yours," said Jack harshly. "My life before yours. That's the code that every parent lives by, and you don't get a say in the matter. I've lived. I've seen more than even you could know. But no matter what you're just a boy, and you have a life ahead of you; a life you've barely begun. You don't get to sacrifice that. Not for me, not for anyone. Not while I still have breath in my lungs."

Harry scowled at the floor. "That's not fair," he said.

"Sure it is," said Jack. "You just have to wait until it's your turn to do the protecting. Your abilities don't change any of that."

"So what are you going to do?" Harry asked, repeating his earlier question.

"Well," said Jack, "you're grounded of course." Harry shrugged uncomfortably, uncertain about what exactly that entailed. "More importantly though, you don't get to know what it is that I'm doing anymore."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"I mean that I'll tell you when I'm leaving, and when I expect to be back, but nothing else. You won't know where I am or what I'm doing. If I'm late coming back from a mission, the default answer you will receive when you ask is that I have been delayed. Yeah," he said noticing the look on Harry's face, "it sucks, but that's what you're going to get until I'm sure you won't come running to the rescue every time you think I'm in danger."

The worst part of it was that that was fair, as much as Harry knew that he would hate it. He huffed, at a loss for words. He still didn't regret what he had done; he doubted that he ever would.

"Alright," said Jack. "How's your arm?"

Harry blinked in surprise before remembering the stab wound that he had received. He looked down at it. "It's okay, I guess. I'll be as good as new in a day or two."

"Maybe one of the Tok'ra can heal it when we get to the base. Either way, you're under Janet's custody until it is healed."

Harry wouldn't mind getting it healed, as now that he had remembered it, the wound was starting to bother him quite a lot. But it was not as though he needed to be stuck in the base infirmary until it was. Still, he figured he was getting off relatively easy. Which reminded him; "What exactly does grounding entail?" he asked.

"Well," said Jack as though he hadn't really put much thought in it himself. "No going out to see your friends."

"That's it?" asked Harry.

"Yeah," said Jack. "Other than that, you're always either at home, on the base, or in school."

Harry had to remind himself that the Dursleys had undoubtedly had a skewed idea of grounding. Starvation and confinement to his cupboard had been the norm when he was younger. Of course, the Dursleys would never have thought to punish him simply for endangering his own life. It felt entirely wrong to draw satisfaction from a punishment, but this being Harry's first time being in trouble with Jack, he reflected that it was oddly comforting.

"Jack?" he said, deciding that it was a good time to talk about something that had been niggling away at him. "What was it like, the first time you killed someone?"

Jack took a deep breath, looking troubled. "The first time," he repeated. "At first, it doesn't really register. Because you're in a battle, you've killed the guy trying to kill you, but that's not the end of it, because there are more. The adrenaline take control, and there's no time to really think about anything other than staying alive, and keeping your team alive. When it's all over, you're still on that high, and you're just glad to be alive. If you lost anyone, you mourn for them. That high doesn't last very long. For me, it took a couple of days before it really sunk in. Because the people you fight aren't going to be all bad. And you get to thinking, that they probably have families too, and while you're glad to be alive, someone out there is missing them."

"And then what?" asked Harry at a whisper.

"And then you remember what you're fighting for, and you console yourself that you did the only thing you could." He sighed. "You shouldn't have come Harry, but as far as the battle went, you did what you had to."

"I wish it was just the goa'uld," said Harry. "I know they're evil-"

He was interrupted by the door chime.

Harry sighed. Jack called out, "Come in!"

The door opened to reveal a Tok'ra, who stepped in. "We have need of you," the man said to Harry. "Mathas has lost consciousness. His injuries are proving too much for his symbiote."

"You up for it?" asked Jack.

Harry just wanted to lay down. "It doesn't seem I have much of a choice," he said instead. When Jack raised his eyebrows he added. "I'll be fine. It's Mathas you should be worried about. A mistake with a healing device can be as bad as one with a scalpel, no less so with an imaginary one at that."

"And yet," said the as yet unnamed Tok'ra, "we do not believe that he will survive the further two hours required to get to Earth."

"I'll do what I can," Harry said, and he followed the Tok'ra out of the room. Back in the ring room, Harry was led to Mathas and he knelt beside him. He took a deep breath before holding his hands over the Tok'ra's still form and pouring out his energy.

The internal bleeding was what was going to kill the host. Harry could tell where the symbiote had already begun healing. It was the kidneys that had doomed them though. Damaged beyond the symbiotes abilities to heal at the moment, toxins were beginning to build up, and this was interfering with the symbiotes ability to heal the host. Still, the bleeding was the most pressing problem, so Harry started there. It did not take long though for his exhaustion to begin to catch up with him. It took everything that he had to remain focused on his task.

Harry stopped short of healing all of the bleeding, opting to simply leave it at a more manageable level. He moved on to one of the kidneys. With that healed, the symbiote would eventually be able to heal the rest. It was much more delicate work than the rest, and in the end, Harry had to settle for partial functionality before he stopped and pulled back his energy. He slumped back, leaning on his arms to keep himself from falling back on the ground.

Sam was there beside him in an instant, helping to support him.

"He'll be okay," Harry told her.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Harry nodded. "I will be. But everything's going dark, so sleep-" the world went black.

!!!!!

"How is he, Major?"

"He'll be fine, sir. He came to again a couple of minutes ago, and I gave him some juice. He's back asleep now."

"Good," said Jack. "How much longer until we get to Earth?" he asked.

"Another hour," she said. "You know, Ren'al and Selmak have been examining the engines, trying to figure out how Harry made them go so fast."

"What did they figure out?" asked Jack, for once genuinely curious about something technical.

"They said that Harry's changed how the engines use the energy to make the hyperspace window, making it much more efficient. Apparently it looks a lot like the changes that the goa'uld have been making to their technology more recently. They've been seeing the same sort of thing throughout the ship's systems."

"I thought that he'd only changed the engines," said Jack.

"He had," said Sam. "I guess he made these other changes on the way to Revanna."

"How does he do that?" asked Jack.

"I'm not sure about the method," said Sam, "but Harry told me a while ago that when he modified the engines they had felt wrong to him, and he just did what he had to to make them feel right."

"Interesting," said Jack. "Now, talking about the engines."

"Yes sir?"

"I want you to show me something?"

"Okay," said Sam, evidently unsure about what Jack could want to see in the engine room.

Jack walked there with her following. "I want to know which crystal this ship can't go anywhere without."

Realization dawned in Sam's eyes. "You can't actually keep him where he's supposed to be, so you'll settle for keeping him on Earth."

"If I have to," said Jack, fully aware that Harry would undoubtedly like this the least of all of Jack's decisions. Before that day, Harry had not once taken the ship anywhere since rescuing Sarah, but Jack was relatively sure that Harry had drawn comfort from it's presence. Well, he would just have to get used to being stuck on Earth for a while. "Which crystal?"

Sam sighed and opened one of the drawers filled with glowing crystals. She pointed to a large red one. "This is the main control crystal for the hyperdrive. Remove it, and the ship will be limited to sublight speeds."

"Gotcha," he said. "I want it out as soon as we reach Earth."

"Yes, sir."

Jack went to the bedroom across from Harry's, which coincidentally was the one that he had been stabbed in the last time he had been on this ship. Sleep sounded pretty good right about then, and for the moment nothing else needed to be done.

Sam came to wake him a while later; a glance at his watch told him that it had nearly been an hour.

"We're about to drop out of hyperspace, sir."

"Alright," said Jack. "Where are we going to come out?"

"My dad checked. Harry's set us to come out in a stable orbit behind the moon."

Jack nodded. "Good. What about Daniel's cargo ship?"

"They should get there a little after we do," said Sam.

"Right," said Jack. "And Harry?"

Before she could answer, Jacob's voice came out over the intercom. "We're coming out now."

They both braced themselves for the ship's extreme deceleration. With the ship at a stop, Sam finally answered him.

"He's still asleep."

"Alright," said Jack. "I'll go wake him up."

He knocked on Harry's door and waited briefly before walking in. Like Sam had said, he was still sound asleep, apparently in the middle of a dream. He knelt down beside his sleeping son and shook his shoulder. Harry had never been a sound sleeper, but he continued to just lie there.

"Harry," he said loudly, shaking him again. This time, Harry roused a little; his eyes opened, and he started looking around."

"It's time to go, Harry."

"Shoot," said Harry in alarm before he disappeared.

"What the-" Jack fumbled for the lights.

"Sir?" Sam poked her head into the room.

Harry was gone. "He just disappeared!"

"What?" asked Sam. "What happened?"

"He wasn't quite conscious, and I told him it's time to go. Then, poof! For crying out loud, his clothes are still here."

"Oh," said Sam. "That's happened before."

"What?" asked Jack dangerously.

"It was when we were first studying the ability. Harry got distracted, and showed up at area 51 without his clothes. It only happened the one time."

Just great, his son was who knows where, half conscious, and without any clothes.

"Then where the hell is he?"

"I don't know, sir. He never misses, though. He's always gotten to where he wants to be."

"And if he didn't know where he wanted to be?"

"I don't know."

"Alright," said Jack. "Let's check with the SGC, and we'll have someone go to my house."

"What if he went to one of his friend's houses, or school?"

Jack doubted either was likely, but he groaned a little at the thought of Harry popping naked out of thin air in one of his friends' houses.

!!!!!

The sensation of falling was what finally brought Harry back to consciousness. The sensation was short lived, as he landed in a jumble, his head hitting the side of what his hands quickly identified as a bottle of detergent.

What on Earth? Why wasn't he on his ship? Where the hell was he. A ball of light formed in his hand. The where was now evident. He was in the cupboard under the stairs, his once bedroom. What was not evident was why he was naked. And what was he doing there in the first place?

Rubbing the back of his head, Harry untangled himself from the mess of mops and brooms that he had landed on. Opening the cupboard door, he released the ball of light and poked his head out. It seemed to be the afternoon in Surrey. He crept out, trying not to make any noise. Looking around with an odd sense of fascination, he discovered that surprisingly little had changed about the house. He could spot a few new pictures of Dudley in the family room, but that was all.

"Duddikins?" His aunt's voice startled him. "What's all this noise, I wasn't expecting you home so… You!"

Harry turned around to face his aunt, but quickly regretted it as modesty overtook him. His aunt didn't seem to notice or care about his state of undress, in lieu of being furious with him.

"What the Hell are you doing here? Do you know what we've been through because of you? The fines we've had to pay, the rumors you started?"

Harry stared at his Aunt, the pit of his stomach seeming to sink to the floor. She seemed ready to throttle him. He did the first thing that came to mind: he turned himself invisible.

It was his aunt's turn to gape, as she stared into seemingly empty space. Suddenly she cried out, "The money!" and she ran upstairs. Unsure of what to do, Harry settled on following her. She went to her bedroom and opened her underwear drawer, pulling out an envelope that was filled with bank notes. She sighed. "Had to be sure," she said to herself, and Harry realized that she had been afraid that he had robbed her. He wondered if he should be insulted or mystified by his aunt's behavior. Why would her first thought be that he had stolen money that she had hidden away? He supposed that he had stolen his uncle's car. Sort of.

Harry followed his aunt back down stairs, secure in his invisibility. He knew that he should probably go. The last thing he could remember was healing that one Tok'ra; how he had gotten to his old home sans clothing, he had no idea. Still, what had happened since he had left this home? His aunt had mentioned fines and rumors. He supposed that they weren't as respected in the local community as they once had been. No wonder his aunt had been furious with him. Looking around the house though, it was almost eerie how little had changed. Harry was as evident in his absence as he was when he had been there.

Suddenly, there was a knocking on the door. Aunt Petunia left the sanctity of her kitchen to go answer it, and Harry followed her.

"You!" His aunt was very good at filling that word with loathing and ill wishes.

"Hello, Petunia," said the old, long-bearded man.

"What are you doing here?" his aunt asked with venom in her voice.

"Why, Petunia, I'm certain that the answer is quite obvious. The young boy that you so cruelly treated has finally returned to what was once his home. The wards that once protected him here from outside harm may have fallen, but I was still alerted when he appeared suddenly."

"Well you're too late," she said. "The freak went and disappeared."

"_Harry_, may have disappeared," said the old man, and Harry could suddenly detect the thread of anger that hid inside his genial tones. "But I am not too late, for the boy is standing right behind you."

Harry stared wide eyed, and gaped. Finally he stammered out. "You can see me?" he asked. His aunt turned around, terror evident, as she searched for his disembodied voice. Finally she settled for running out of the entryway. She ran up the stairs and the sound of a door slamming echoed through the house. 'Maybe she's protecting her money,' the thought flitted through Harry's head. The old man cleared his throat.

"Perhaps I can remedy your situation." There was suddenly a stick of wood in the man's left hand, and with a wave of it, Harry found himself suddenly wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. His bare feet still sunk into the entry room's thick carpet. Another wave of the stick (the wand?), and Harry was visible again.

"There," said the man. "That's better, I'm sure. I know that you don't know me Harry, but I know you. You must have many questions, and it seems that I have more than a few for you."

Harry did have a lot of questions, but it wasn't as though he could answer any himself. Aside from all of the papers he had signed, he had promised Jack that he would keep a lot of secrets.

"Thanks for the clothes," he said. He sidestepped into the hallway, just out of sight of the man, and jumped to his room at the SGC. He sighed in relief. He gazed longingly at his bed. In spite of all of the unanswered questions floating in his head, it looked awfully inviting. His hand device had told him that it had been over an hour since he had healed Mathas. Maybe he had slept since then, but he was still awfully tired.

"Harry," said a surprised voice from behind him.

Harry turned around and saw Lieutenant Haley. What was she doing in his room? He voiced the question.

"I was waiting for you, hoping you'd miraculously show up." She pulled out a radio and spoke into it. "Sergeant Harriman, this is Lieutenant Haley. I've found Harry, he's in his room."

"Copy that. Bring him to the conference room."

"Will do," she replied. "Come on," she said to Harry.

"Er," he said, "do you know what's going on?"

"You're asking me?" was the response.

!!!!!

Again, the money was still there. Petunia glanced back at her locked bedroom door and nodded reassuringly to herself. Of course, the boy wouldn't know about the money. She felt like weeping. How long ago had it been that she would not have considered being so protective over the few thousand pounds hidden there?

Everything had change since those Americans had come to investigate the boy's disappearance. Their names had been in the paper, labeled as monsters. The fines they had paid had been the least of it (they had been told they were lucky to be staying out of jail!). Mrs. Croftshire from two doors down had actually spat at her feet. The entire neighborhood was against them; they had taken the boy's side of things. They would feel differently, if they knew the truth. But how could she tell them that her nephew had been a freak of a wizard?

Vernon just had to be so stubborn too. He refused to even think of moving, he saw it as giving up. Grunnings had even recommended that he move to another branch, and he had refused! Well, he had left her with no choice. She hated what she had to do, but she just couldn't stay in Little Whinging. Soon she would have enough hidden away to leave, her and Dudley both. She just hoped that she wouldn't end up regretting the decision more than the one to bring her nephew into her home.

The sound of footsteps on the stairs told her that she still was not alone in her house.

!!!!!

It turned out to be fortuitous when Sam had him change immediately into new clothes as soon as she discovered their origin, so she could study the mysteriously conjured material. They disappeared suddenly nearly half an hour later. Fortunately, not only was Harry not wearing them at the time, but Sam had also had every instrument she could bring to bear on the clothes. Later analysis of the data would provide more questions than answers, but it gave Harry a new angle to exploring his abilities.

It was chaos for quite a while, from when Harry was first brought to the conference room, and on past the arrival of everyone else. There was so much going on, from Harry disappearing twice, to the attack on Revanna and the tide of death surrounding it, to Elliot being a host to Lantash, and finally to Harry's encounter in Surrey. In the midst of it all, Harry had nearly become undone with the sudden realization that he could have become invisible during the battle. He likely would have expended more energy, but he wouldn't have had to contend with the knife in his arm, and the various bruises he had sustained. As promised, Jack had sent him to Janet's infirmary as soon as he could, but it wasn't long before one of the rescued Tok'ra came with the base's healing device to return the favor of Harry's healing. After that, Harry was stuck writing an official report on his involvement in the battle, which was a first for him. It was made all the more uncomfortable because Jack was the one tasked to help him file it, and somehow it all seemed worse when he had to go over every detail of the battle with his father.

It all quieted down after a while, and life returned to a semblance of the normal that had existed before Revanna. Harry was still grounded, and Jack often looked at him as though worried that he would suddenly disappear. Jack went on missions, and Harry was often left distracted with the unknown as he only learned about what was happening afterward, if then. When the base was nearly overrun by Replicators, Harry was sent straight home, with instructions to go to his ship should he receive word that the Replicators had made it out of the base. They dumped that problem on the Asgard as soon as it was over.

The rest of the galaxy was not as lucky as they were though. Chaos was what the Tok'ra had wanted when they arranged the assassination of the goa'uld leadership, and chaos was what they got. Out of that chaos emerged four power bases. The Jaffa following Lord Yu's former first prime, two minor goa'uld that managed to consolidate more than a few armies, and one name that struck fear into Harry's heart: Anubis. From what he learned of the long thought dead goa'uld, it sounded like he would soon come out on top. The only thing that really went to plan, was the swelling of the ranks among the free Jaffa. Against it all, it seemed surreal when Harry showed up for his first day of High School.

His friends were waiting for him outside, gathered on the sidewalk in front of the dividing line between the High School and the Junior High. They were all happy to see him after his long hiatus, and Harry was glad to say that Jack had decided that his grounding had gone on long enough. Unable to reveal that he had been grounded for taking part in a space battle, they had been told a slightly contrived tale about Harry risking his life by climbing onto the roof to rescue a stranded stray cat. His friends had been appropriately sympathetic about the harsh punishment.

"I know we all told you to go to High School, Harry," said Tommy, "but this is really weird."

Harry had to laugh. Compared to everything else, it was positively normal. Still, he already felt out of place, just standing in front of the two schools. There were a few children his age in sight, all of them siblings, waving good-bye to their older brothers and sisters.

"I'll be there at lunch," he reassured them all, "and we can all hang out after school."

High School was a fairly drastic change for Harry, in spite of the fact that Chinese, or Mandarin rather, was the only class that held much in the way of a challenge for Harry. Harry had tested into the pre-Calculus class, and there only because that was as far as they were willing to let him go at only ten years of age. History proved to be an interesting class, for all that Harry had an interesting perspective on the subject matter. English was mostly busy work. Aside from that, he had managed to enroll in both Chemistry and Biology in the same year, neither of which promised any challenge.

Harry had a lot to tell his friends when he met up with them at lunch. The differences between elementary school and High School were stark, and even more striking than the transition from life in Britain and life in America. For one thing, his reception from the other students was vastly different. The boys at the high school mostly ignored him, though Harry had heard a remark or two about being a tiny geek. The girls on the other hand, and this he did not tell his friends, fawned over him. He didn't know how many times he had been told how cute he was (similarly, the word 'precious' was starting to rank high as his least favorite), but he thought he might scream if he heard it once more that day.

Harry got to the base late that night. It was his first chance to spend time with his friends, and he had gotten as much out of it as he could. Jack returned from his mission the next night, and he did his best to interest himself in Harry's first two days of school, but still…

"What's wrong," Harry asked him.

Jack sighed, and Harry could tell that it was bad. "We lost today."

"What happened?" Harry asked, knowing that Jack might choose to keep the details to himself.

"You remember how the NID had had a rogue operation stealing technology from other worlds?" he asked instead.

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Well, they broke a device on one world, which had protected these people completely from the goa'uld. When this goa'uld attacked, some no-name that used to work for Svarog, we went to try to fix it. Anyway, we were captured before we could make it to the device, and we waited as prisoners until no-name showed in his mothership. SG-3 had to go into hiding. We'd have been toast if some rebel Jaffa hadn't shown up and sprung us."

"So," said Harry. "What happened to the planet?"

Jack looked him in the eye and said, "You know."

And he did. Without any protection, the people of that planet faced either destruction or enslavement, depending on how much resistance they put up.

"Come on," said Jack, "Janet's cleared me, and I've finished my report. Let's go home."

Home sounded good right about then. Harry decided that he'd make a big steak dinner, and then there was still some homework to get done. Perhaps the goa'uld wouldn't seem like such a problem after steak and homework.

!!!!!

Viewing Petunia Dursley's memories of that afternoon offered little more information for Albus than his own had. She had managed to see more of the boy, more of the injuries that he seemed to have sustained. Of course, he had more questions than answers at this point. How had the boy arrived at the house in that state? He had appeared surprised to even be there. What was the peculiar bracelet affixed to the boy's right arm? Perhaps even more pressing than the rest, how had he escaped Albus's anti-Apparation and anti-Portkey wards? The only conclusive information that Albus had deduced from careful delving of the hallway that the boy had been in was that dark magic had not been involved. The only other reassuring element from the boy's visit to his former home was that he had in fact acted as a confused boy, with no hint of the entity that had possessed him during his abduction. A quick look at the boy's eyes during his brief moments of visibility had been confirmation.

Still, Harry had shown both an ability to become invisible, though conceivably that could have been explained as accidental magic, as well as an ability to disappear through the wards. Wherever he was, Harry seemed to be learning advanced magic, though Albus could not fathom to what end. Harry would have to one day stand against Voldemort, but Albus still did not know if this magical education was something that would help Harry or not.

Either way, Albus would have preferred that Harry were safe somewhere, and able to simply be a child. He could still remember the infant who had slept in a corner during order meetings. It would be lucky though if Harry was simply returned to the wizarding world undamaged. The injuries that had littered the boy's body would not leave his minds eye.

There was so much to be done. Harry had to be rescued from whatever situation he was in; Remus would have to be contacted in Egypt concerning the bracelet; Cornelius had to be advised concerning this new development with Black; Albus himself would have to find an opportunity to view this evidence that apparently pointed to Black's innocence. In truth, he did not know what to think about the claim. It would be terrible, if true, but it would also be a blessing of sorts to find out that the man had been innocent. Albus had always prided himself as a good judge of other people's character. He had hated being so wrong about Black all those years ago.

A/N: Happy New Year! I tried to have this chapter ready for Christmas, but it just didn't come together soon enough. As ever, please review.


	14. 13 Death

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Wish I did. Enjoy.

Death

Duck. Dodge. Break the knee, grab the arm, and stab. The Jaffa's dead eyes stared up at him. There was blood everywhere. Waxen eyes focused on him, and the little boy spoke to him.

"Why didn't you stop him?"

"I'm sorry," said Harry pleadingly.

"Sorry isn't good enough, Mr. Potter. You will have to actually wake up and pay attention to my class."

Harry sat up with a start. His hand shot up to his face to wipe away a spot of drool as he looked up at the problem on the board.

"Sorry Mr. Goodman. The answer's thirty-seven."

"Mr. Potter, I have not finished explaining to the class just how to reach that answer. That was to be the grand finale."

"Sorry Mr. Goodman."

"What I did want to know was how one might solve the first segment of the problem."

"Right, you need to find the derivative of the tangent of x."

"Quite right. Stay awake in the future, and I'm sure we'll get along swimmingly."

There were giggles from all around him.

"Since Mr. Potter has clearly already mastered this problem," the teacher continued, "can anyone else tell me how we're going to go about finding the derivative?"

Harry had not been able to help falling asleep, though he had tried his best to stay awake. It wasn't just that the class was terribly dull. He had stayed awake the night before working on a program designed to help the Tok'ra steal more cargo ships.

Ever since Teal'c's defection, the goa'uld had begun installing security protocols in their ships, preventing them from being easily stolen. Harry had been working with Elliot and Lantash to create a program to search out and destroy any such programming. It wasn't a terribly difficult task, but it required a lot of coding. Harry had finally finished it after three in the morning, having gone back to his laptop after Jack had gone to bed. His dreams had been unsettled since the battle over Revanna, and the distraction had been welcomed. He was regretting it now; Harry was stronger than most, but he still needed sleep like any other ten year old.

When class was over, Mr. Goodman stopped him before he could leave.

"Mr. Potter, a word, if you please."

"Er, yes?"

"I would ask you if you were finding High School a little too challenging, but it's clear that for this class at least, there is no challenge. I do hope that you didn't find it so boring that you had to sleep."

"Er, right," said Harry. "I was working on a personal project late last night. It won't happen again."

"Alas, no protestations as to your interest in my class."

"No," said Harry, "your class really is interesting. I was just so tired today."

"Mr. Potter, one thing you are not better at than your classmates is lying. They've managed to turn it into a fine art. I'm sure you would have been much happier in a higher class."

"Well," said Harry, "yes."

"There is no district or state age limit on the Calculus class, that was a decision made by vice principal Scott. A decision I have since convinced him to change his mind on. Get this signed," he held out a form, "by your father, and you will be moved to Ms. Chadams's AP Calculus class. Fortunately enough, it takes place during the same period as this one. With luck, she'll be able to keep you awake."

Anything was possible. "Thank you sir. I'm sure he'll sign it tonight."

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter. Now shoo; I've got a date with some beef stroganoff in the staff room."

Harry left the room and then the school at a fast walk, making his way to the lunch lines at the Junior High. Calculus would be no more of a problem than pre-calculus, but taking it certainly made it more likely that he would be able to sit for his GED with the school's blessing at the end of the year.

"Hey, Harry," said a voice from behind him.

"Hey Philip," Harry turned to the boy. "How was English?"

"So boring," the boy said dramatically. "I don't care about iambic pentameter. I mean, who cares? Who needs to know it for anything?"

"Poets," Harry suggested.

"Who says I want to be a poet?" asked Philip. "I swear, if I have to analyze another poem, I'm going to blow up."

"Well, I'd miss you," said Harry.

"Hah," said Philip. "You're up, by the way."

Harry turned to face the cashier. "Pizza and a coke, please."

"How's High School?" Philip asked as they walked away, munching on still hot Pizza.

"Still dull," said Harry. "I'm transferring to Calculus though."

"Oh," said Philip, "so, less dull?"

"Hopefully," Harry said doubtfully.

"What's less dull?" asked Matt.

Harry looked over his shoulder at the boy who had a habit of popping out of nowhere.

"Calculus," Philip supplied.

"You're taking Calculus?" Matt asked.

"As soon as Jack signs the paperwork," said Harry.

"So what will you do next year?" asked Matt.

"He can take Statistics," said Philip, "that's what my brother did instead of Calculus. He got college credit for it."

"I might not be here next year," said Harry, sitting down with his friends at their normal hang out spot.

"Seriously?" asked Simon.

"Yeah," said Harry. "We're looking into me getting a GED, if not a high school diploma. Then I could go to college."

"Pikes Peak?" asked Andy, referring to the local college. It was only a few miles away.

"Boy geniuses don't go to community colleges," said Matt authoritatively.

"He could go to MIT," said Tommy.

"Where's MIT?" asked Simon.

"Massachusetts," said Philip.

"How far is that?" asked Simon.

"Three hours," said Philip. "My sister flew there when she was looking at colleges."

"Your sister was going to go to MIT?" asked a surprised Tommy.

"Nah, she was looking at some Berkley School of Music, or something."

"I thought she was studying business," said Simon.

"I thought it was architecture," said Andy.

"She was definitely doing law," said Tommy.

"She did all those things," said Philip. "Some at the same time. She's not really good at making up her mind."

Matt scoffed. "How can she not know what she wants to do yet?"

"Yes Matt," said Tommy, "we all know that you're going to be a lawyer."

"Darned right," said Matt, "you know, you should have a go at it. You could be a judge."

"You already know I'm going to go to work with my dad."

"Oh, please," said Matt. "It's obvious you don't want to, so what's stopping you?"

"What do you mean it's 'obvious' I don't want to?" asked Tommy.

"Seriously," said Andy, "you sound like you're telling us that you're going to spend your life filling cesspits."

"Ew," said Simon.

"They have a point," said Harry. "You've always sounded resigned. You know, you don't have to do it; no one can choose your life for you. Not even your dad." At least, he was sure that Jack would never make him choose one way or another.

"Forget about it," said Tommy, "that's just what I'm going to do. It's a good job."

That's what they all did, or at least, that was what they pretended to do. Harry didn't forget though. When they left school that day, all walking towards their own homes, Harry caught up with the other boy.

"Hey, Tommy," he called out.

Tommy turned to him. "Harry," he said. "Aren't you getting picked up by some airman today?"

"Nah," said Harry. "I have other plans."

"Oh," said Tommy.

"Mind if I walk with you?"

Tommy gave him a look that clearly said 'why would I?' and Harry quickly fell into step with him. He spared a moment to wonder who might look at them and think them to be older and younger brother walking home together; their age difference was quite obvious.

Harry cleared his throat. "I wanted to talk to you about earlier today."

"What? Matt? He won't really put a cherry bomb down a school toilet."

"No," said Harry, "I'm sure he plans to avoid a criminal record before law school. I meant about, what you want to do when you grow up."

"That?" asked Tommy. "I told you, it's nothing."

"Look, I know that half the time, it seems like we're talking about what I'm going to do with my life. What branch of science or math I'll go into, where I'll go to school, things like that. But I do know what it's like to think you don't have a future." Tommy frowned, perhaps remembering the family that had never thrown Harry a birthday party. "And, it took me a while, but I realized that that's what I see in you. You talk about working with your dad, but you don't think you'll even do that. I think you're just using it as a cover to avoid talking about things."

"No," said Tommy earnestly, "there is a good chance that I will be able to work with my father."

Harry didn't know how Tommy could suddenly sound hopeful for the possibility. "Then I really don't understand," he said.

"Look, I really shouldn't be talking about this."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Because, my parents say I shouldn't."

"Why?" asked Harry, his eyes narrowing.

"Look, it's nothing like that," said Tommy defensively, seeing the look on Harry's face. "I…" He ran a hand through his hair. "I've known for over a year now, that I probably wouldn't make it through college."

"Tommy, you're smart, probably one of the smartest kids in the seventh grade." It was true. It was one of the reasons that he was the unspoken leader of their group.

"That's not… It doesn't matter." He took a quick breath. "I'm sick. I was diagnosed with late onset Duchenne muscular dystrophy. That means I'm going to die."

His voice broke on the last word, for quite possibly the first time, and Harry felt his stomach drop. "What?" he asked breathlessly. They had both stopped walking.

"You might not have noticed yet," said Tommy quietly, "I've stopped wearing shorts, since my calves are getting huge. That's the first really noticeable symptom. I've already started stumbling more, and it's not so easy to run; and I get tired. You'll notice that I did a lot of watching you guys this summer; I only played a little. Soon, I'll have trouble walking. A couple more years and I'll be confined to a wheelchair. After that," he swallowed, "paralysis and death are inevitable."

Harry shook his head.

"I'll be lucky to get past twenty. The disease is going fast, I guess it's making up for lost time. So you see, going to college, or anything else would be pointless." He sighed. "And I've never told anyone that, never said it out loud." He looked down at Harry for the first time since he had started. "And I guess they were right to say I shouldn't tell you. I'm sorry, you shouldn't have to know this."

Tommy brought his hands up to Harry's face and ran his thumbs down his cheeks, and Harry realized that he was crying.

Harry scrubbed at his own face and said, "No, it's alright." What a stupid thing to say; Harry couldn't think of anything less 'alright'.

Echoing that sentiment, Tommy let out a sob. Harry hadn't seen the older boy cry, hadn't seen any of his friends cry, and he had no idea what to do. Not that he even knew what to do about himself. It was Tommy who did something though, and he leaned down to hug Harry.

"I am sorry Harry," he said quietly.

"Me too," Harry found himself whispering back.

How long they stood there, Harry couldn't tell. Eventually, Tommy nudged him in the shoulder, and they started walking again in silence. They found themselves in Tommy's kitchen drinking sodas.

"It's really not so bad," Tommy told Harry. "The medicine I take helps a lot, and I get a massage every week; that's really nice."

"Yeah?"

Tommy nodded. "My dad got the family really nice insurance, and once I got sick, they were stuck with us."

"That's good," said Harry, still feeling a little numb.

"You can't tell the others," said Tommy suddenly. "I mean, imagine how Simon would take it. He cried for a week when his hamster died. And Matt; I know he acts tough but…"

Harry nodded. "You can trust me," he said. He swallowed, debating whether to go on. "I know your secret, so I should tell you one of mine. No one but Jack and his team knows."

"Is it very terrible?" asked Tommy.

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Okay," said Tommy solemnly.

"I was kidnapped," Harry started, and Tommy's eyes opened wide. "Um, it was when I was still with my other family. Some people who were being chased by Jack's team took me hostage. That's how Jack found me."

"He rescued you?"

Harry shook his head. "I…" he sighed. "I killed them. I didn't have anyone but myself then, so I killed them myself. That was when I thought that I didn't have a future, 'cause, I'd killed them, and I was alone, and what could come after that?" He took a breath. "So anyway, that's my secret."

"I won't tell anyone," said Tommy.

"I know," said Harry. He cleared his throat. "Um, I need to go, Jack's expecting me."

"Okay," said Tommy. "I'll see you tomorrow?" It was not a casual question.

"I'll be there," Harry reassured his friend.

Harry left Tommy's house pulling out the cell phone from his backpack and calling for a ride to the base. He wasn't sad anymore; he was determined. There wasn't a chance in Hell that he was going to let his friend die.

!!!!!

"Jack! Jack, I've been looking all over for you."

"You have?" Jack was in his office, a place he seldom visited.

"Yeah, I need to tell you something."

"There's something I need to tell you too," said Jack

"This is important, actually-" Harry interrupted.

"I'm sure it is-"

"Tommy's dying." Harry declared.

"What?" asked Jack.

"Tommy's dying. He's got a form of muscular dystrophy. It's got a hundred percent fatality rate. But it's okay, 'cause I'm going to cure him."

"Harry," said Jack, as close to aghast as Harry had ever seen him, "you can't."

"No, no," said Harry. "I know it won't be easy, I mean, it's a genetic disorder, and the way it works is it makes faulty proteins-"

"That's not what I meant," said Jack. "You can't heal him without breaching secrecy."

"We could tell him that the Air Force is doing an experimental study."

"They wouldn't buy that for long, Harry, the Air Force doesn't study childhood disorders. We can't manufacture a study."

"So it doesn't have to be the Air Force," said Harry. "It doesn't matter whose doing the study."

"And when their son is miraculously cured? You expect them to accept a secret treatment? How many friends do you think they've made whose children have the same disorder? How many online forums are they on for parents of children with fatal illnesses?"

"So we let them in on the secret, they'll understand they have to keep it a secret if it means Tommy gets better."

"We ran background checks on all of your friends' parents. Tommy's father has a criminal record. It was nothing serious, and a long time ago, but he isn't eligible for clearance. His mother has five cousins, an aunt, and a half-sister living in Russia. They're both out."

"Well we have to do something!"

"Alright, something," said Jack. "We'll try to think of something, but I'm sorry Harry. I'm very sorry, I don't think we have any good options."

"I won't let him die," said Harry.

"I know," said Jack. "You don't have it in you to do nothing. But from what little I know about the disease, we have a lot of time. Now, normally I'd say 'to hell with work', and go home with you, but we have a situation."

"What's wrong?" asked Harry. Jack was right; they did have time.

"Daniel's been exposed to a lethal amount of radiation."

"Why didn't you call me in?" Harry asked. "We need to get to the infirmary."

Jack shook his head. "Daniel isn't in the infirmary."

"What?" asked Harry. "The Tok'ra?"

"No, Harry. Daniel's being held prisoner."

"What?" Harry asked. "By who? Is he getting treatment?"

"Yes, he's getting treatment," said Jack, "at least they say he is. We were visiting a civilization, abandoned by the goa'uld a long time ago. Their technology is on par with what we had in the early fifties. They claim that Daniel shot one of their government officials, and sabotaged a weapon experiment, causing the radiation exposure."

"Daniel wouldn't do that," said Harry.

"I know," said Jack, "but we still don't know what happened."

"How long ago?" asked Harry. "How much radiation?"

"Sam says seven grays over his body, and eight or nine on his hands. It happened around ten this morning."

"That's really bad," said Harry. "I need to get to him as soon as possible."

"We know," said Jack.

"So you're going to rescue him?" asked Harry.

"Damned right we are. We just don't know how yet. Sam and Teal'c are going over our intel on the planet, trying to work out our options."

"And you?" asked Harry.

Jack scowled. "Politics. These people have a substance we want; Sam says it could give us an edge over the goa'uld. They call it naquadria, it's some sort of-"

"I know what it is," said Harry. "Isis and Osiris knew of it, or they knew that it was being researched. Nirrti never knew it existed though, so I doubt that any of the other system lords have it. I wish I'd thought of it before myself." Harry went around Jack's desk and placed a hand on the computer monitor, pushing his energy into the system. He searched for the planet. "Is this it? P9Y-4C3?"

"That's it," said Jack. "Langara."

"The goa'uld Thanos conducted experiments there to create naquadria. Isis had a spy or two among his ranks though. I take it Thanos is gone."

"Yeah," said Jack, "there was some sort of cataclysm there thousands of years ago. Anyway, the Pentagon wants us to get our hands on the stuff, so they want to see if we can find a way to maintain diplomatic relations."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "That's stupid."

"I know," said Jack. "That's what the General and I have been trying to tell them. Right now, I want you to go to Sam's lab. Work with her and Teal'c on a rescue plan."

An hour later, they were still going over building plans and security measures remembered by Sam and Teal'c from their mission. So far it was all for naught. They couldn't come up with a rescue plan that wouldn't incur heavy casualties on both sides. They were interrupted by warnings of an unscheduled off-world gate activation. A few moments later, SG-1 was called to the gateroom, while Harry remained in Sam's lab. He didn't have long to wait though before he was called to the conference room himself.

Sam, Jack, and Teal'c were there waiting for him, along with the General and another man that Harry had never met before. The man had a bandage wrapped around his temples.

"Son," the General addressed him. "This man is Jonas Quinn, he's from Langara. He has defected to us in the hopes of helping us rescue Doctor Jackson, and as a show of good faith, he has brought with him a sizeable sample of naquadria. Your father mentioned that you were familiar with the substance, and before we did anything else, we wanted to make sure that it was securely stored."

Harry nodded slowly, taking in the information as he raised the shield on his hand device. He approached the box sitting on the conference table, which everyone was standing away from. He addressed Quinn.

Harry nodded. "What is the box made of?"

"Well," said Jonas, obviously unsure of Harry, "I don't know your system of measurement, so…" He took a pad of paper from the table and sketched a couple lines. "The box is comprised mostly of lead, which is this thick all around." The line he pointed to was a little over an inch in length. "The outside casing is made of steel, this thick." It was close to a centimeter.

"That should be fine then," said Harry, "as long as the box is well made. Does the top overlap the base?"

"It does," said Jonas.

"Good," said Harry, dropping his shield. "Then we should all be fine."

"You're Colonel O'Neill's son?" asked the still confused Kelownan.

"He is," said his father. "He's also our foremost expert on the goa'uld and their technology."

"I see," said Jonas, though he clearly did not.

"Getting back to Daniel," said Sam. "I'm assuming he didn't shoot you."

"Well, technically yes, but he saved my life."

A gesture from the General had them all taking a seat. "Please continue," the General said.

"We were observing an experiment with the naquadria weapon," Jonas explained. "We were protected by heavy duty bullet proof glass. Everything seemed to be fine, until our researchers lost control of the experiment. It released a wave of intense radiation that rendered the researchers unconscious. It continued to put out high levels of radiation, and was threatening to go critical. It would have certainly destroyed the capital city."

"What did Daniel do?" asked Jack.

"I motioned for him to stand away from the glass, but the device needed to be disarmed. None of the researchers were able to, and the room was sealed off. Doctor Jackson pulled out his pistol and shot at the glass. It cracked, but stayed intact. Unfortunately, one of the bullets ricocheted and hit me in the head. I'm not sure if it was the bullet itself, or my head hitting the ground, but I only stayed conscious long enough to see him jump through the glass. He was moving towards the device when I blacked out. He must have succeeded though, because, well here we are."

"So why is Doctor Jackson being held as a saboteur?" asked the General.

"Most of the project's researches are either dead or will be very soon. I can't describe how awful it was to see them in the state they were in. But the rest of them were safe in another observation room. They know what happened, but they don't want to admit to it. They've covered up their mistakes by blaming Doctor Jackson; I'm sure that they believe that he will die either way. When I awoke and learned of what happened, I tried to tell them the truth, in the hopes that Doctor Jackson would be returned here. You're much more advanced than we are, I hoped that you could do something."

"And yet Daniel Jackson has not been returned to us," said Teal'c.

"They said that I was obviously remembering things wrong, because of my head wound. It's my word against all of the other researchers, and they have an excuse not to believe me."

"I see," said the General, "and so you came to us."

"Well," said Jonas, "that's not the only reason."

"What then?" asked Jack.

"Our instruments continued recording throughout the experiment. They showed the true potential of naquadria. If Doctor Jackson hadn't disarmed the device, the explosion wouldn't have been limited to the capital. But when our leaders learned of the true power of the weapon, they were happy. They couldn't wait until the weapon was finished. That's why I came, I couldn't be a part of that."

"I see," said the General.

"So why did you bring _us_ the naquadria?" asked Sam.

"The things that Doctor Jackson told me when he was trying to warn me of what could happen when a weapon like this is created. I believe that you would be wiser stewards of a power like this."

"Very well," said the General. "Now you said that you wanted to help us rescue Doctor Jackson."

"Yes," said Jonas. "But I don't want any of my people to be hurt."

"We have non-lethal weapons at our disposal."

"Good," said Jonas.

"Did your people find a set of rings?" asked Harry.

"Rings?" asked Jonas.

"They're a device similar to the Stargate," Sam explained. "Over relatively short distances, they can transport any matter as energy. A single set consists of five rings atop each other, roughly two arm spans in diameter."

"We have something like that," said Jonas. "It's in our Museum of Antiquities in the capitol."

"Where is that in relation to where Daniel's being held?" asked Jack.

"The hospital's about a twenty minute walk away."

"I can get us closer," said Harry.

"You're not going down to the planet," said Jack.

"And when you get Daniel?" asked Harry. "Do you expect to carry him back to the museum."

"Fine," said Jack. "You can come down once we've secured Daniel's room, for as long as it takes you to get us back up."

"I'm confused," said Jonas.

"That's normal," said Jack. "Now we'll need you to draw us some maps; the museum, the city streets, and the hospital. Mark out security while you're at it."

It took them hours to plan everything out; too long. Langara was three hours away by Harry's ship, and over a day away by the cargo ship that Daniel had stolen. Finally Jack arrived back in the conference room with the control crystal for Harry's ship, while Sam and Jonas were going through clothes that could pass as Kelownan for the team. Finally they were ready to leave, and Harry pulled them all through hyperspace to his ship. It was taxing for Harry to take all of them at once, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

"You be careful with that," Harry called after Sam as she went to replace the control crystal. Its confiscation was still a source of annoyance for him.

"Alright, Jonas," said Jack "just remember not to touch anything."

Jack hadn't wanted the man to come along, but with too many unforeseeable variables, the man was necessary. He wasn't going to be going down to the planet though.

Harry's thoughts were aflutter through the voyage to Langara, jumping from memories of his last fateful trip in his ship, to thoughts of Daniel dying alone on Langara, to Tommy sentenced to death by his own body. Harry could do nothing about the past, but he could save Daniel, and no matter what, he would save his friend.

Finally they dropped out of hyperspace, and Harry put them in a high orbit around the planet. None of the Langaran countries had the means to detect their presence automatically, but they still didn't want to be spotted by any lucky astronomers. Jack, Sam, and Teal'c assembled on the ring platform, dressed in the clothes Sam and Jonas had picked out, and armed with Zat guns. Harry activated the rings, sending them down to the platform in the museum.

!!!!!

Jack was uneasy about having Harry along on the mission. Barring some manner of disaster, Harry would never be in any danger. If Harry followed the plan, then he certainly never would be. But Jack didn't doubt that Harry would come down himself if he judged Jack to be in too much danger. It made Jack nervous, and determined not to let anything go wrong.

The museum took form around them as the bright light of the rings faded away, and Jack had to blink to clear his vision. It was night and the museum was closed, making their mission much easier. Of course, Jonas didn't know much about the museum's security. However, he was relatively certain that the window alarms could be easily taken care of from the inside. Barring any outside intervention, getting out of the museum would be the easiest part of the mission.

The sound of a Zat had him spinning around, bringing his own weapon up to bear. A security guard was twitching on the ground, victim to Teal'c.

"I see a radio," said Jack. The offending object was a few inches from the guard's hand. "Do you know if he got the word out?"

"I do not," said Teal'c.

"Right," said Jack. "Sam, get us out of here."

"On it," said Sam, moving to a window. Beneath it was a convenient chest for them to stand on. "The alarm is a simple magnet sensor. All I need is a screwdriver and a zip tie. One minute."

She finished in half that time, and they were soon out of the building, making their way to the street that Jonas had marked on his map. They kept their Zats under their coats, and tried not to look out of place on the half deserted nighttime streets.

"Jonas," Jack said into his radio, "we keep getting funny looks. Are you sure our clothes are okay? I mean, Teal'c's hat…"

"They're not perfect," came the reply in his ear bud. "But they shouldn't give anyone pause. Let me think… where is Major Carter in relation to you and Teal'c?"

"She's taking up the rear," said Jack.

"No," said Jonas, "the middle of the night, they'd expect a lone woman to be protected between you."

"Right," said Jack, "Sam, up here." Sam wedged herself between him and Teal'c all the while muttering about chauvinist men.

Jonas's twenty-minute walk was actually thirty, but they reached the hospital without any trouble. Inside, rather than the reception area that Jack would have imagined, they found a large hallway. A nurse sat at a small table, obviously acting to direct visitors.

"Do you know where you are going?" The woman asked.

"We do," said Jack.

"Very well," said the woman. "I'm sure you know the drill, you and your lady friend will have to cover your hair." She handed them both black and white checkered scarves, which Jack tied over his head. Teal'c she first checked to see that he actually was bald under his hat. Teal'c managed to bow his head, and lower his hat in such a way as to keep his gold decorated head covered. To him, she handed a checkered bracelet to mark him a visitor. Looking around, Jack could see that everyone covered their heads. Visitors in black and white, nurses in pure white, and doctors in either red, blue, or green. On the staff, it looked more like the headscarves worn by women in the Middle East. None of the staff wore the goatees that seemed to be favored by the older Kelownans.

While they walked towards the elevators, Jack addressed Jonas over the radio. "What's with the hair?" he asked.

"Lice," said Jonas. "You know what sort of diseases they can transmit."

Jack made a note to himself to avoid Langaran lice.

On the sixth floor they made a right from the elevator. Daniel's room was obvious, as it was the only one in the otherwise deserted hall that had guards on it. Jack approached them.

"Oh, good. Maybe you guys can help me; I'm looking for a friend of mine. He's here for a lobotomy."

Twin bolts of blue shot past him and struck the two military guards, sending them to the ground. Jack went past them and tried the door.

"I need a key," he said.

"This may be it," said Teal'c, pulling a small key ring from one of the guard's belt loops.

"Right," said Jack, trying the only key that fit, to no use.

"Jonas," he said, "what direction do you guys turn your keys."

"It's in and to your left."

"In?"

"You have to push it in a little."

"Got it." The door opened, and Sam and Teal'c dragged the two guards in behind them, before securing the door."

Jack placed a small device on the floor. "Harry," Jack said into his radio, "you're up."

A second later, Harry appeared in the middle of the room, having homed in on the transponder Jack had lain down. He picked up the small device. Together, he and Jack made their way to Daniel's bed. Sam and Teal'c were still restraining the guards with zip ties. Jack had never seen a victim of radiation poisoning, and he knew what Jonas had meant when he had said that he had never seen anything so terrible. Unfortunately, or perhaps not, Daniel was unconscious. Harry was visibly affected.

"Let's get out of here," said Jack. "Sam, Teal'c."

The two came over and placed hands on Harry's shoulders. Jack grasped his arm. Seeing Harry's distress, Sam said, "remember, concentrate on bringing all of us."

Harry nodded, and with his hand on Daniel, he pulled them all into hyperspace.

"How is he?" That was Jonas as soon as they all materialized aboard Harry's ship.

"Not good," said Jack. "Harry?"

"Yeah," said Harry, tearing his eyes away from Daniel's bloody gauze covered face. He pulled out a healing device and slipped it over his left hand. Of course, Harry didn't need it, but it made the job easier. "Alright."

!!!!!

Harry had seen a lot of violence and death, but never before had he seen anything as awful as what Daniel's body was doing to itself. He had known what to expect, of course, but even that had not prepared him. The information the healing device was sending back to him told a worse tale than what his eyes told him alone. The Kelownan doctors had obviously put a lot of effort into helping Daniel with their relatively primitive means. But even had he had access to Earth medicine, he wouldn't have been in much better shape. The bleeding sores all over Daniel's body weren't just on the skin, Daniel was bleeding all over internally. His kidneys, liver, and intestines had already shut down, and his lungs didn't have much longer themselves.

"There's nothing I can do," he finally said, letting his arms fall. "At best, I could only prolong this. And I couldn't- I won't do that to him."

"We understand Harry," said Jack. The pained look that had plastered his face only grew deeper. Sam looked close to tears. Teal'c simply nodded stoically.

"I'm sorry," said Jonas. "It should have been me."

Harry ignored him. "A sarcophagus," he declared. "A sarcophagus could heal him completely. I can think of a dozen worlds at least where we could get access to one."

Jack shook his head. "Daniel made his wishes on that clear. He's spent too much time in them already. He doesn't want to go in one again."

"I don't understand," said Jonas, "what's a sarcophagus?"

"It's a goa'uld device," said Sam, "capable of healing any injury, even death. Unfortunately, it also corrupts the mind with repeated use. We believe that that's part of the reason why the goa'uld are the way they are."

"That's why we're not going to try," said Jack.

"How can I just let him die?" asked Harry.

"You aren't Harry. You've done what you can. Anything more would be wrong. Come on, let's take him home."

Distractedly, Harry gave the mental command to send the ship into Hyperspace, causing everyone but himself and Teal'c to lurch back. "He won't make it home."

Jack nodded sadly. "You should get some sleep, Harry," said Jack. "It's been a long day."

"No," said Harry. "I'm not going to leave him alone."

"Neither will we," said Jack.

Harry nodded and settled back to watch Daniel draw in struggling breaths. Removed from the machines that had been helping to keep him alive, it was only a matter of minutes before he stopped. Nothing that Harry had seen could prepare him for what happened next.

For a moment, there was stillness, and it seemed that everyone held their breath when Daniel stilled. But a second later, Daniel's form was replaced by bright white light. Harry's grief was replaced by wonder as a the globe of light rose from where Daniel had been, arms of light extending from it and almost seemed to caress them.

A voice flitted through his mind. "Goodbye."

The light disappeared, the well-lit room returned to what now seemed dark and drab.

"Was I the only one who heard…" said Jonas.

"He said 'goodbye'," said Jack.

They all nodded in agreement. "What happened?" Harry asked, confusion warring with wonder and grief.

"It's exactly what happened to the monk at Kheb," said Sam.

"Daniel Jackson has moved on to a higher plane of existence," said Teal'c.

"I don't understand," said Jonas.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked Sam.

"We can't be," Jack answered.

Harry nodded. "I'm going to be in the control room." Jack stood up to accompany him. "I'd rather be alone."

"If you're sure," said Jack. Harry nodded. "Alright, I'll be out here if you need me."

"Thanks," said Harry. As soon as he was alone in the control room, Harry set to work. He had failed to heal Daniel, but he refused to be zero for two by nights end. Harry called up the schematics for a particular goa'uld healing device before going to get the materials that he would need. An hour later, the device was roughly assembled, and the basic programming was being downloaded into it. Meanwhile, Harry was studying the human genome to pinpoint the faulty gene. The ship's extensive records contained a plethora of information on the human body. Eventually, he had data on both the healthy gene and the faulty one, and he input the data into the device he had crafted.

When he was finished, Harry left the control room and found Jack sitting on the couch in the living area. He sat down next to his father, who put an arm around him. Neither of them spoke. They remained like that until the ship lurched out of hyperspace.

Harry stood up and faced Jack. "I know that you're not going to like what I'm about to do, and I do care. But there's something I have to do before I go home."

With that, Harry disappeared into hyperspace. He found himself in pitch-blackness. It was well past midnight, and apparently Tommy didn't sleep with a night-light. Harry used the light from his watch to find his way to Tommy's bedside. Harry held his hand device over the boy's head, and with a whispered apology he activated it, pulling the boy from sleep and into unconsciousness. It wouldn't do to have him wake up while Harry was healing him.

The device that Harry had made worked in tandem with a healing device, allowing it to target specific faulty genes, and essentially reprogram them. It wasn't perfect, and it would be nearly impossible to affect every cell in a person's body in such a way, but Harry didn't need to. It didn't matter if the cells in Tommy's brain or spleen could produce the needed protein, so long as the majority of his muscle cells were capable of the feat. Over time, the healthy cells would replace the weak ones. Barring further intervention, Tommy would still turn any daughters he had into a carrier for the disease, but this way at least, he would have a chance to have those children.

Harry set to work; progress was slow, and he had a lot of work to do before sunrise. He started by healing the damage that had already been done before moving on to the gene repair. It wasn't just the skeletal muscles that Harry had to work on. The heart, the diaphragm, and countless other small muscles that made everyday life possible. Harry had to target the majority of the cells in each muscle.

By the time the sun started to creep over the horizon, Harry was exhausted, and almost finished. The small muscles in the foot responsible for balance were his current focus. Harry heard the Browns going about their morning routine; he would have liked to go further with his work, but he didn't know when they might come to wake Tommy up. He mentally berated himself, as this was exactly why one should not go into such a situation so blindly. It didn't matter though. He had done enough. If Harry was never able to continue his work, Tommy would still be able to live a long and healthy life.

Feeling good about himself, Harry passed his hand device over Tommy's head once more, allowing the boy to waken.  
"See you at school," he whispered, before jumping to Area 51 long enough to jump home.

Harry's bedroom was empty, and still dark. He was tempted to just go to bed, but he knew that he owed it to Jack to let him know that he was home. He found his father in the living room sitting on the couch, drinking a beer.

"Simpsons?" asked Harry.

"Yeah," said Jack. Harry sat down next to him. "How's Tommy?"

"He's going to be fine," said Harry. "Confused, but fine."

Harry was expecting the man to start berating him, but he said instead, "Kinsey dropped by the complex after we returned from Area 51." Of course, without Harry there, they would have had to ring down to the cargo ship in Area 51 to get home.

"Oh?" asked Harry; aware of the man and his history with SG-1, but unsure of where Jack was going with the conversation.

"I almost punched the smug bastard. I've never been so close in my life. Punched a wall instead. Anyway, I figure none of us are at our best tonight."

Harry realized that he wouldn't have to put into words what had made him rush forward to heal Tommy. Jack already understood.

"Root beer?" asked Jack.

"Yeah," said Harry.

Jack reached into an ice bucket next to the couch and pulled up a bottle, which he examined before switching it for another. "Here's the stuff that won't put hair on your chest."

Harry pulled off the top and clinked the top of his drink with Jacks. Jet came in from whatever corner of the house he had been haunting and settled down at Harry's feet.

"This a rerun?" he asked.

!!!!!

"Have you been able to trace the letter?" asked Secretary Lee, sitting behind his office desk.

"No sir," said Mark Holmes, his Chief of Magical Law Enforcement. "It could have come from Albuquerque or Zimbabwe for all we can tell."

On his desk, a brief message read: _Peter Pettigrew is alive. He is an unregistered animagus, taking the form of a grey rat. He is of course missing a finger. Remus Lupin can confirm._

"What do we do with it?" asked Mark.

"We find this Remus Lupin," said Lee, "and see if he can lead us to Peter Pettigrew."

!!!!!

"My lord, our scout ships have confirmed that the same ship that was spotted over the Tok'ra base is indeed in orbit around the planet Earth."

"Excellent," said Anubis, speaking to his first prime, "prepare an armada. We strike in five days."

A/N: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a real genetic disorder affecting one in every 3,600 males. It's a recessive sex-linked gene, so girls are almost never affected. I did take liberties with the facts to make it fit with the story. There's no such thing as late onset Duchenne muscular dystrophy; symptoms seldom fail to appear past the age of six. The disease is every bit as terrible as I described it though, and there is no miracle cure.

In other news, since surviving the fires of this summer, I have also survived the first mudslide to come rumbling down my street. We've all got our fingers crossed that it doesn't happen again, though this time it was mostly just an annoyance.


	15. 14 Scurry

Scurry

"We can't go on like this! I'm happy, of course, that my Tommy is feeling better, but it's killing me to not know whether he's going to stay like this or not."

Doctor Yu was one of the few people to have seen Mrs. Little in such a state of distress, and this was only the second time. The first had been when he had diagnosed her son. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, trying to formulate an answer. "We believe that Tommy is going to stay better." How to explain this? He hadn't known what to think when the Littles had ambushed him with their suddenly well son, a few extended relatives in tow. He had been skeptical at first that the boy had shown any real improvement, but further examination had left him, to put it succinctly, flabbergasted.

Mr. Little interrupted his train of thought though. "It was a misdiagnosis then? You said that the dystrophy had a hundred percent fatality rate."

"No," said Doctor Yu. "Tommy is the one in many millions of a disease that now has a 99.999999% fatality rate."

"I don't understand," said Mrs. Little.

"As you know, we've taken many samples from your son." That was an understatement. The boy had been biopsied enough times for Swiss-cheese jokes to apply. "He definitely has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. However, healthy cells appear to be replacing sick ones, all over his body."

"That doesn't make any sense," said Mr. Little.

"Have you ever heard of vanishing twin syndrome?" asked Dr. Yu.

Mrs. Little nodded. "You hear all sorts of horror stories when you're pregnant. It's when one twin dies in the womb, and is absorbed by the other."

"That's one form of it; there are more than a few. It happens a lot more than people realize. Now, sometimes, as you said, the twin is absorbed or incorporated as a kind of tumor; sometimes it is expelled, and sometimes, much more rarely, it is incorporated into the twin in a very different way."

"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Little.

"It's called Chimerism," said Dr. Yu. "Instead of the dead twin breaking up, and its base elements being absorbed, living cells are incorporated into the healthy embryo. Thus, the surviving twin has two sets of DNA."

"How does this apply to what's happening now?" asked Mrs. Little.

"Your son's condition is a genetic disorder. If, as we have hypothesized, Tommy were a chimera, then most of his cells for most of his life would have had the disorder, which began to present. However, as the unhealthy cells weaken, it seems that healthy twin cells are replacing them."

"Has this ever happened before?" asked Mrs. Little.

"Not that has ever been documented," said Dr. Yu. "And that's not the only thing that's odd about this."

"What else then?" asked Mr. Little.

"Now, of course, we haven't been able to completely analyze both sets of DNA, but they obviously cannot be identical, as one has the defect, and the other does not. However, to the extent that we have been able to analyze them, they appear identical."

"Except for the obvious," said Mr. Little.

"Yes," said Dr. Yu."

"Why's that important?" asked Mrs. Little.

"Because it just doesn't happen," said Dr. Yu. "Even with the most ridiculous cases of inbreeding, fraternal twins just do not share this much DNA. If the two sets of DNA were evidence in a trial, the experts would say that they came from one person with a ridiculously high level of certainty."

"So what are you saying?" asked Mr. Little.

"Chimerism is the best explanation for what's happening to Tommy. However, it is far from perfect. It's really all quite fascinating, and I really would love to take the opportunity to-"

"No," interrupted Mrs. Little.

"I'm sorry?" asked Dr. Yu.

"You wish to perform more tests and write a paper for a medical journal."

"Well, yes. With more time, we can find the answers we're looking for. What's happened here could help revolutionize medical science."

"You may, of course, write any papers you wish with our blessing. You have been a great help to us in this terrible time. But you have already poked enough holes in my Tommy. He's not a medical mystery, or a lab rat. He's my son. When he's old enough, perhaps he will feel differently, but for now the decision is ours." She looked at her husband, who nodded to her. "And we have to say no."

"I see," said Dr. Yu. The greatest medical mystery of the century, and he had to be a minor. "Well, I suppose that you will want to tell your son the good news. You should also know, that he is likely still a carrier for the disease. If he has children, he will make his daughters carriers of it, and that's if he doesn't have the severe misfortune of marrying a woman who already carries the gene."

"We understand," said Mr. Little. "Thank you."

!!!!!

Harry wasn't sure what he was supposed to call the get-together they had for Daniel's non-death. It wasn't a party, or a wake, or any sort of memorial. He was pretty sure he wasn't the only one who was confused by the gathering in the commissary. There was food, snacks, and drinks for everyone, and even a large sheet cake that had been done up nicely. Not that anything was written on it.

Across the room, Harry could see Jonas talking awkwardly with Sarah Gardener, who had come as soon as she had been informed. Harry's reunion with her had been uncomfortable, especially as he was forced to consider that had he tried to extend Daniel's life, she might have been able to say goodbye to him. It wasn't that he regretted his decision, but he wondered what others thought of him taking it upon himself to make it.

Jonas was another person who Harry didn't know how to deal with. He supposed that the man was actually a hero of sorts, defecting to them to save Daniel. But still, Daniel was gone, and here was a stranger, seemingly standing in his place. Harry had avoided the man as best as he could; which wasn't hard, as the man never sought him out.

Harry had spent most of the gathering with the scientists he usually worked with. Jack had tried to include Harry with the rest of his team for the day, but Harry could tell that they were going through something that didn't include him. He made his way over to the buffet table.

All of Daniel's favorite foods were there, which Harry found odd, as Daniel wasn't exactly invited. Looking at the spread, the one thing they all seemed to have in common was that they were all typically available for delivery. Harry shook his head with a smile and began piling chow mein on his plate. He'd reflect later that it was the oddest things that could trigger an epiphany.

!!!!!

Jack hated memorials, or whatever the Hell this was. Then again, who did like them? They were supposed to be depressing. Not that Jack had any clue how he was supposed to act about this. He didn't even know if Danny was even technically dead. This wasn't even the first time they had had a memorial for the guy.

It was Harry he was worried about. If he could, he'd go back to make sure Harry had never had to see Daniel like that. It had been enough to give Jack nightmares, and he knew that Harry was prone to them. Not that he had confided in Jack. Of course, Harry still kept his darker thoughts to himself when he wasn't pushed. Jack supposed that he had been lacking in that regard, but what if Harry just needed space?

It wasn't as though the team hadn't been shaken as well. None of them had been their selves lately. It wasn't easy to tell with Teal'c, but the big guy was mourning for Daniel in his own way. They'd all been together for five years, and the loss of Daniel had been sudden. It would take a while for them to recover. Still, at least the food was good.

So there he was, sitting at a little table with his team, listening to Sam talk about how perplexing Naquadria was, when his least favorite part of the program walked through the door. Kinsey, and twice in one week; damn. What was the smug bastard there for? He got up to ask him.

"My comings and goings in this facility are none of your business, O'Neill. However, as it so happens, I'm here to talk to you."

"To me?" Jack asked challengingly.

"Yes," said Kinsey testily. "Now if you'll step outside."

Jack rolled his eyes and followed the man, mentally cursing the part of the Uniform Code that forbade him from being openly rude to the Senator.

"Well," said Jack once they were in the corridor. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yes," said Kinsey. "It concerns Potter."

"What about Harry?" asked Jack, his eyes narrowing.

"I have here," he said, waving some papers, "documentation of the boy's time spent working with our scientists to advance our primary mission, which is to gain technology to defend ourselves from the goa'uld." As though Jack needed to be reminded of that; it was the Senator who had tried to shut them down.

"That's Harry's time card," said Jack. "It's for letting the Air Force know how much to pay him for his time, not for you to go snooping."

"I don't care what it's for," said Kinsey. "I care about July 10th to the 16th, where he never so much as had a phone conversation with one of our scientists."

"Harry went camping with his friends," said Jack stiffly. "He's given a lot to this program, and he deserves a break, now and then."

"A break!" cried the Senator. He pulled out another paper. "Access card use, which translates to time spent on this base. Cross-referenced with his time sheet, and you see more days wasted. Day's spent using this facility like a way-station."

"Would you just say whatever it is you've come here to say?"

"You have one job when it comes to that boy, Colonel. Make sure he helps us to defeat the goa'uld. Well congratulations, you've demonstrated that you can fail spectacularly at the simplest of tasks."

"My job," said Jack angrily, "is to be a father. He is my son."

"He's an asset, Colonel. And it's about time you realized that."

"And just what do you expect to do about it?" asked Jack. "You have nothing to do with Harry and me."

"Oh, believe you me. If I'd had my way, you would never have been _considered_ as a guardian for that boy. But just because I couldn't stop it then, doesn't mean I can't _end_ it now."

Jack stepped up to the man dangerously. "Do you really think _you_ can take him from me?"

"Is that a threat, Colonel?" asked Kinsey, almost victoriously.

A deep voice spoke up. "The only threat that I have heard today is yours, Senator Kinsey," said Teal'c. "Do you truly believe it wise to threaten the son of a man such as Colonel O'Neill? If you do, you should know that _I_ hold them both in my debt."

Kinsey swallowed. Neither of them had realized that they had garnered an audience.

"Senator Kinsey, I'd like to see you in my office," said General Hammond.

"I am in the middle of-" Kinsey started.

"Do I have to remind you whose base this is?" asked the General.

Looking apoplectic, the Senator swallowed his words and walked past Jack.

Jack turned to Teal'c. "I didn't think we were keeping track."

"You, perhaps," was all he said.

Jack heard Harry's voice, as his son ran out into the hall.

"Jack, Jack, I figured it out." Harry looked around. "What's everyone doing out here?" Before Jack could answer, Harry said, "Never mind. I figured out how to get past naquadria's instability."

"You did?" asked Jack, who wasn't exactly well versed in the research surrounding the substance.

"Yeah," said Harry, "see, in proximity, naquedah resonates with naquadria."

Jack knew that he must have been wearing a blank expression on his face and apparently, so did Harry.

"So um, yes," said Harry, "I think I can draw power from naquadria."

"Sounds good," said Jack.

"Yeah," said Harry with a grin.

"Wait," said Sam, "how exactly?"

"Think of a pasta strainer. I mean, actually that's a bad analogy, but it gave me the idea. Let's go to your lab, I'll show you what I've got."

"Hold on a second," said Sam, "I think Jonas would be interested in this." She stuck her head back into the commissary to call for him. Jonas came out with Doctor Lee and the rest of the geeks.

"Have fun," Jack called after them as they made their way down the corridor.

!!!!!

//DONG!!//

Remus, who had already been half awake, quickly opened his eyes when his tent's chime went off, alerting him to visitors who wished his attention. He groaned, wishing for a little more shuteye in the cool Egyptian morning, before getting up and donning a robe. He made his way to the tent's entryway and undid the ties that shut it off from the rest of the world. With the door open, the interior seemed a lot smaller, but of course, that was just an illusion. There were two men standing outside, dressed in very smart robes.

"Mr. Remus Lupin?" one of them asked.

"Let me see," said Remus, in lieu of answering. "Americans, and law enforcement." They were too well dressed for Aurors. "Either magical FBI, CIA, or Secret Service. I'll go out on a limb and say FBI."

"He's FBI," said the one on the left. "I'm his local contact." Read: CIA. "I assume that you are Remus Lupin."

"I am," said Remus shortly. "Now, you're either here about Harry, or you're here about Sirius. Given your country's lack of interest in Harry though, I'd have to go with Sirius."

"You'd be correct," said Mr. FBI. "I'm Special Agent Phillips, this is Mr. Richards."

"A pleasure, I'm sure," said Remus. "But then I'm British, and this is Egypt. Why should I talk to you when sleep seems so much more productive?"

"I've heard confession is good for the soul," said Mr. CIA.

"Confession?" asked Remus dangerously.

"A poor choice of words," said Mr. FBI. "My companion merely means that perhaps we are all interested in making sure that the right person was sent to prison nine years ago."

"Is that what your government is interested in?" asked Remus. "It seems to me that all they're interested in is the political one-upping of Britain, regardless of how many old wounds have to be opened to do it."

"Britain has asked the world to hunt Mr. Black down, and they intend for him to receive the Kiss," said Mr. FBI. "We cannot in good conscience be a part of that when Mr. Black's most basic rights have so obviously been trampled. Should Mr. Black be found on American soil, it would be imperative for us to determine his guilt or innocence; no matter how obvious it may seem to most."

"Fine," said Remus bitterly, "in the interest of _justice_, I'll help you. Now what do you want?"

"Before Voldemort attacked the Potters," asked Mr. FBI, "were you suspicious of Mr. Black?"

Remus sighed. "We were relatively certain that one of us was a spy. I knew it wasn't me, and I knew it wasn't James. That left Sirius and Peter."

"I see," said Mr. FBI. "But which one did you suspect."

Remus closed his eyes. "Peter."

"Mr. Black's own brother was a known death eater," said Mr. CIA, "to say nothing of the rest of his family. Why did you not suspect him?"

That question required a deep breath on Remus's part. He wanted to let the wolf loose, but he couldn't. He controlled himself. "Because, in many ways, Peter was the weakest of us. I thought that if anyone could betray us, it would be him."

"Is it true that Mr. Pettigrew was a rat animagus?" asked Mr. FBI.

Remus narrowed his eyes. "You have Black, don't you?"

"It's true then?" asked Mr. CIA, even as Mr. FBI began denying the accusation.

"The United States government would not hold an international fugitive in secret. We did however receive an anonymous tip."

Remus scoffed. "Anonymous," he said scornfully. "There's only one person who could have told you."

"Then it's true?" asked Mr. FBI.

"Yes," said Remus reluctantly. He hadn't meant to give away that information so easily.

"That's fairly impressive for a weak man," said Mr. CIA.

"I said he was the weakest of _us_," said Remus. "That doesn't exclude impressive. Anyway, he had help."

"From whom?" asked Mr. CIA.

"From James," said Remus. He dithered. "And Sirius."

"Sirius Black is an Animagus?" asked Mr. FBI sharply.

"Yes," said Remus. "A grim-like dog."

"And you never told anyone?" asked Mr. CIA.

"It was our most closely kept secret," said Remus, "for more than one reason."

"They kept you company during the full moon," stated Mr. FBI, revealing that they knew far more about him that Remus had realized. He ignored the claim.

"Is there anything else?" he asked.

"Yes," said Mr. FBI. "Was the secret of the Potter's location shared with you?"

"Yes," said Remus, "their being in hiding didn't stop us from getting together regularly."

"How was it shared?" asked Mr. FBI.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Remus.

"Did Mr. Black tell you in person, or were you given a note containing the information by him or a third party."

Remus could see what they were getting at, but decided against further confrontation. "Albus Dumbledore showed me a note during a meeting."

"A meeting?" asked Mr. CIA.

"Yes," said Remus, to what he knew was not a yes or no question.

"Do you still have it?" asked Mr. FBI.

"I never did," said Remus. "Professor Dumbledore held on to it."

"I see," said Mr. FBI. "That will be all then, for now." He turned to his contact. "I suppose I will be going to Britain after all."

!!!!!

"So what kind of engine are we talking about here?"

That was Grahm.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, I think we should talk about how exactly we're going to manufacture the core."

That was Lee. Once the group had decided that his idea had merit, things had really taken off.

"Whoa, before we start talking application, let's get proof of concept," said Doctor Holmes.

An exasperated Sam said, "That's the first sensible plan I've heard all night. Harry, any thoughts on the matter?"

Harry considered it. "For proof of concept? I think we could get a very basic generator set up in here in no time. In the mean time, I think we'd need probably a two gram sample of naquadria and," he did some quick mental math, "one point three grams of weapons grade naquedah."

"And when your theory is proven?" asked Holmes, "What then?" Not if; when.

"The prototype hyperdrive is nearly finished at Area 51," said Lee, "I've been keeping tabs on the project. It's the perfect size for the fighter. A few modifications, and I think we could incorporate all three technologies."

"The engine wasn't built for naquadria, and the fighter wasn't built for the engine," Doctor Grahm countered.

"It's ambitious," Sam declared. "I approve. I'll expect your proposal tomorrow."

"It's a good start," said Harry, "but not good enough. The X-302 is the smallest real world application. But we're already looking to build our own ships."

"That's still in planning," said Sam.

"Yes," said Harry, "and let's plan with the proper data. We need to see how this will work on a ship, not just a hyperdrive engine."

Sam smiled. "You're thinking of your ship, aren't you?"

Harry's grin outdid hers. "Two birds; one stone. You think they'll go for it?"

"Harry," said Doctor Lee. "If there's one thing I've learned from working for the government, it's that they'll give you anything if you promise them a tactical advantage in a warship."

!!!!!

Albus shook his head as he mused over the request from the American wizard who had come to see him at Hogwarts. The two of them were currently walking around the lake.

"I am quite familiar, of course, with the charm used to disguise handwriting," said Albus, "but I admit I have not heard of its reversal." Much as one could not unscramble an egg.

"Standard forensics," said Special Agent Phillips, "in the good old U.S. of A."

What other magical creations did the United States government keep secret from the rest of the world? Perhaps as much as the Ministry of Magic did. Albus sometimes thought that it would be quite amusing if all the different countries were keeping all the same secrets.

"The Fidelius charm ended many years ago," said Albus. "With the Potters permanently gone from Godric's Hollow, the secret was no longer true. However, I suppose for sentimental reasons, I do still have the note."

"Where?" asked Special Agent Phillips.

"It is in my office here," said Albus. "Though where exactly it is, is another question entirely." Albus had accumulated quite a collection of stuff over his long life.

"Would you be willing to relinquish it?" asked Special Agent Phillips.

"Of course," said Albus, "for your ongoing and noble investigation. You know, I do believe that this investigation may well be an opportunity for greater cooperation between our two governments."

Special Agent Phillips gave him the look that said that Albus was quite mad. It was a look that Albus was all too familiar with.

"How soon can you get it to me?" asked Special Agent Phillips.

Albus looked back up toward the castle. "I suppose, I could be back here in half an hour. You will, of course, have to wait outside the castle grounds." Foreign law enforcement was not allowed in the castle proper without the approval of the school board, or on the grounds without escort.

"Thank you for your cooperation," said Special Agent Phillips, without a touch of irony.

!!!!!

Now that he was getting used to them, Harry found he quite liked celebrations. Not that many of the people attending the barbeque at Tommy's house knew what it was for, of course. It seemed like everyone that the Littles had had the slightest contact with had been invited. When his friends had asked him what the party was for, Tommy had said that his parents were very happy, and they wanted everyone else to be happy as well.

Harry knew, of course, though he couldn't let on that he did. He had worked hard to keep the grin of pride from his face, before he finally gave up, and passed himself off as just another happy partygoer.

Life was going fairly well for Harry. The naquadria proof of concept test had gone well, and a hyperdrive capable fighter was now in the works. Harry had gone up to Area 51 more than a few times to help on the project. Better, Harry had gotten permission to upgrade his own ship with Naquadria, provided that all practical information was recorded. Harry was expected to help incorporate the technology into the planned spaceship.

"What's up, Harry?" asked Matt. "I've never seen you smile so hard."

Or not. "Can't a guy just be happy to be at a party?" he asked innocently.

"Well," said Matt, "seeing as it's Mr. Serious, I'll have to assume that drugs are involved."

"Prescription or illicit?" asked Harry.

"Either," said Matt.

"I think I should be offended," said Harry.

"Well," said Tommy, "you can be offended in the food line. I'm starved." Matt was always starved of late, and he proudly took every opportunity to tell people that he was going to have a growth spurt. Philip then took every opportunity to suggest that it would be out, and not up. Harry wasn't looking forward to the height difference between himself and his friends widening so dramatically, and he knew that it would be a while before he caught up.

Later, after tiring of outdoor games, Harry, his friends, and a few other children who had been invited were playing video games in the living room. They were currently playing a racing game, and none of Harry's actual driving skills were doing him any good. During one of his off-turns, Tommy approached him.

"Hey, Harry. My Mom found some books at a used bookstore that she thought you might be interested in. Want to take a look?"

Quickly seeing through Tommy's subterfuge, Harry answered in the affirmative, and followed the older boy to his bedroom. Keeping the smile off of his face was easier now, with the proper motivation.

"Is this about your… secret?" he asked Tommy.

Had Harry not known the truth of the situation, Tommy's answering grin would have seemed paradoxical. "Yeah," said Tommy. "But it's good news, really good news."

"Are you okay?" asked Harry. "Was it a misdiagnosis?"

"Yes," said Tommy, "and no. "I'm going to be fine, but it wasn't a bad diagnosis."

"I don't understand," said Harry, feigning a puzzled look, though he was actually very curious as to how the situation had been explained.

"I have two sets of DNA," explained Tommy. "One's healthy, the other isn't. When my bad cells started to weaken, the other ones began to take over. The doctors say I'm a chimera. But I mean, it's amazing; it's a freaking miracle."

"It is amazing," said Harry. It didn't matter how it had happened.

"I'm not going to work with my dad," Tommy said suddenly. "I'm going to go to college, and I'll become a doctor. A really good doctor; and I'm going to help people get better when no one expects them to."

"That's really great, Tommy," said Harry. "You'll be great."

"I can do anything I want now," said Tommy, a little choked. "I won't let anything stop me. You know what sounds good to me right now?" Harry shook his head. "A marathon. I'm going to run a marathon. And then a mountain sounds about right. I'll climb to the top of it, and then I'll find something taller."

Harry laughed. "Well send me your pictures from the top."

"Oh, don't think you're getting out of doing this with me," said Tommy seriously. "I mean it Harry, anything that I can do, you can probably do better. You were there for me when I wouldn't have blamed you for running away."

Harry shrugged. "I just don't know how to run away," he said.

Tommy shook his head. "You met my Uncle Jeremy out there," he said. "I used to be out at his house almost every weekend. But then I was diagnosed and, he was scared of me. Not for me, he just couldn't be around me because he couldn't handle my… mortality. My grown uncle couldn't handle it, but you did, so thank you. And yes, you still have to do it."

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Well if I have to…"

Tommy nodded. "I don't know anything about training for a marathon, or mountain climbing."

"We'll figure it out," said Harry. "The internet's good for that."

!!!!!

Just peeking from the moon, Harry's ship accepted the matter stream of a ring transporter. Harry, Sam, and a researcher from Area 51 named Doctor James Hollowitz stepped off the platform, taking equipment along with them, and they waited for the platform to activate again. This time a considerably larger shipment appeared, accompanied by Lieutenant Elliot.

"Right," said Harry. "You all know what we're doing here. Elliot, you're my second in command."

"Second in command?" asked Sam dubiously, fingering her rank pins.

"For the next week," said Harry, "the people in charge are the ones that know this ship best. That's Elliot and me. Remember, you break my ship, you stay here."

"Got it, Harry," said Sam.

"He's not serious, is he?" Doctor Hollowitz asked Elliot.

Elliot rolled his eyes. "Don't break the ship, and you won't have to find out."

Harry went on. "I'm going to be focusing on updating the engine. Elliot's going to spearhead the upgrading of the power conduits. With a little luck, we'll have everything done in a little over a week."

"Everyone have what they need?" asked Sam.

There were nods of assent. The ring platform would be offline for most of the week, so travel would be limited to hyperspace. Harry would be going home for school in the morning, and coming back to work on the ship. Considering that carrying much extra through hyperspace could be taxing after a while, it had been decided that Harry would only carry people and equipment back and forth at need.

"Alright," said Harry, "let's get to work." He headed to the engine room.

While all Harry technically had to do was update the engine's software and install the naquadria core, tests had shown that they wouldn't get optimal results that way. Thus, Harry would be refitting the engine. It would not be as good as building a new one, but they were doing the best they could with the time and equipment available to them.

!!!!!

Above Cimmeria, the Asgard ship Beliskner (the sixth with that name) fell out of hyperspace. Immediately, Thor broadcast a signal to the three ha'taks.

"Goa'uld ships, you are in violation of the Protected Planets Treaty. Leave now, or you will be destroyed."

The Asgard showed no mercy in enforcing their treaty. Their bluff to the System Lords relied upon it. When the three ships did not leave, Thor opened fire.

Curious. Previous experience said that the ships should have been destroyed by now. His ship was beginning to take some damage. He kept firing. The goa'uld could not be allowed to win once.

!!!!!

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Jack asked as he stepped into General Hammond's office.

"That's right, Colonel," said General Hammond. "Have a seat."

"This about P3X-987?" asked Jack, referring to his upcoming mission.

"This is about Harry," said General Hammond.

Jack paused. "Kinsey," he said accusingly.

"When he was here a week ago, I told him that if he had an issue with how we run things here, he could take it through the appropriate channels."

"Let me guess," said Jack.

"That's what he's doing."

"What _can_ he do?" asked Jack.

"Not as much as he hopes," said the General, "but maybe enough."

"How bad?" asked Jack.

"You know he wants to take Harry away from you," said the General. "He proposes that either Area 51 or the NID should have custody of him. We both know which he would prefer." Jack growled. "That's not going to happen; he doesn't have the clout."

Jack refrained from giving voice to all of the things he would do should Kinsey get away with the least of that. "What does he have the clout for?"

"Harry's ship," said the General.

"They can't take it away from him, unless he lets them."

"There's a researcher at Area 51 who thinks otherwise." It was not that Jack didn't think his life would be simpler if Harry didn't have his own space ship, or super powers, but he'd be damned if anyone took anything from Harry.

Jack wondered if Kinsey had forgotten what Harry had done over the skies of Revanna. "If Kinsey gets away with any of this," said Jack, "it's over my dead body." Or his.

"I don't think the Senator would lose any sleep over that," said George.

Before their conversation could continue, Walter's voice came over the base speakers.

"General Hammond to the control room."

Jack followed the General out of the office towards the control room. Through the glass, Jack could see that the gate was active behind the iris.

"Report," said the General.

"SG-6 was supposed to check in now," said Walter. The wormhole was a little early though, and we're receiving no transmissions."

"Nothing from the MALP?"

"No, sir."

A technician spoke up. "I'm picking up an energy signature. It's keeping the gate active."

They'd seen this before. "Sound the general alarm," said the General. "Alert the Pentagon. This isn't a drill people, we are expecting an imminent attack."

!!!!!

"Look at the mess you've gotten us into," said Cornelius. "If you hadn't given them that note, we would never have been put in this position."

Albus pulled his eyes from the fine statuette that decorated a corner in the Minister's office. He reminded himself that he couldn't shake the man. Had they given Sirius a trial eight years ago, they never would have been put in this position. Albus shared in that blame as well.

"The world is watching us, Cornelius," said Albus. "The only way to save face now is to cooperate. Acknowledge that a previous administration made an error in judgment, and as an act of good faith, give them the evidence that they have requested."

"I will not capitulate to Americans, Albus. This is an affront to this entire nation."

"This coalition has been very clever, Cornelius. Whether Sirius Black is found to be innocent or guilty, they will be seen as champions of justice. If we stand against them… They have made a gesture of peace by asking us covertly to hand over the evidence. We have been given a chance to attach ourselves to their victory."

"But they will know that they put us in a corner, and we gave in."

"Yes," said Albus, "they will 'win'. However, it is better than the alternative."

"Just leave me, Albus. I have to consult my advisors."

The advisors who had doubtless told Cornelius the same things before he had become desperate enough to turn to him? Albus resisted the urge to roll his eyes, as his students were wont to do.

"Very well, Cornelius. But considering that the Americans are going to publicly ask for those documents tomorrow, you have little time to choose."

"There has to be a way to come out on top," said Cornelius as Albus left his office.

!!!!!

Harry should have been happy, ecstatic even. The upgrade was finished, and everything seemed to be working perfectly. But he was furious.

"What the heck did you think you were doing?!" Just as he had been uploading the new hyperdrive software, he had noticed another upload taking place simultaneously.

"Look," said Doctor Hollowitz, "I was just following orders…"

"What is it?" Harry demanded, pointing to the crystal that had just been installed in his ship.

"It's just a backdoor program. It isn't even doing anything right now."

"A back door?" Harry asked dangerously.

"Just in case," said the man. "They weren't going to do anything yet. They're waiting for clearance."

"You thought you'd found a way to neutralize this," said Harry, holding up his right arm, displaying his hand device. "This is _my_ security system. How did you think you were going to bypass a security system, with an attack that was so obvious to it?"

"I really am just following orders."

"Who did order this?" asked Sam from the sidelines.

"My division head," said Hollowitz. "I don't know where the order originated from. Please don't kill me."

"Kill you?" said Harry, surprised. "I'm not going to kill you. I'm just going to beat you up a little."

"**Harry,**" Lantash interrupted urgently. "**We have a bigger problem right now.**"

"What?" Harry snapped.

"**A ha'tak has just dropped out of hyperspace in orbit around Earth. Scans are consistent with Anubis's mothership.**"

"Just one?" asked Sam.

"What's it doing?" asked Harry.

"It's hailing us," said Elliot.

!!!!!


	16. 15 Ending

A/N: To all who haven't noticed, this story is now rated M. It's not the one I would have expected to cross over, but that's how it played out. I hope that I haven't disappointed anyone. Anyway, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: Don't own a bit of this. JK owns Harry Potter, and Stargate SG-1 is produced by MGM.

Ending

Arthur was worried. Actually, that was a poor description of his state of mind. There was confusion, doubt, and more than a little fear warring within him. He had just come from a meeting of the department heads concerning the search for Black, and it hadn't gone at all how he would have expected. "Keep your eyes open for a grey rat missing a toe," they had been told. Arthur had received the distinct impression that the ministry thought the search to be futile, but there he was walking to the office of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, thinking about his son's rat, who had maybe lived a little too long. That wasn't mentioning the missing toe on one of Scabbers front paws.

Was the missing toe on the left or the right? Should he check before going to see Amelia? No, he couldn't be dithering while a dangerous wizard could have been sharing his son's room in secret for nine years.

He knocked on her open office door.

!

"Three days till Christmas," said Elliot, "and Anubis shows up at our front door."

"Yes, well," said Harry, "let's see what they have to say." He highly suspected that it would be, 'surrender or die,' but it couldn't hurt to check.

"Opening a channel," said Elliot.

A black-cloaked figure that could only be Anubis appeared on the screen. As far a goa'uld garb went, his went a little over the top as far as demonstrating how evil he was.

"Anubis, I presume," said Harry.

Instead of responding verbally, an image was called up on the screen. Harry recognized it immediately; it was of himself aboard an al'kesh above Revanna, with the bodies of dead Jaffa at his feet.

"Yeah," said Harry, "that was me."

"**You may have proven yourself capable**," said Anubis, his image replacing Harry's, "**but you cannot hope to defeat me now; you are out matched. Surrender now, and I will spare your lives and your planet**."

"Big ship," said Harry, as though mulling the idea over, "but mine's definitely cooler." With a quick mental command, Harry shut down the connection.

"Lantash, weapons. I'll fly. Keep an eye on sensors, Sam. Hollowitz," so much for beating the man up, "inform Stargate Command of our situation."

"You promised not to fight, Harry," said Sam.

"I never promised to let the planet be destroyed," said Harry, "and it's not like I have anywhere to run to." Earth wasn't safe, and Harry's ship still didn't have hyperdrive capabilities.

"Then we'll fight for you," said Sam. Harry held up his hand device, which was still necessary to run the ship. "Then unlock the safeties," said Sam.

"No time," said Harry. "They're redundant and hardwired into the ship. Even his back-door program won't let you go anywhere without me. I fight, or no one does."

He was between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't surrender for Jack's sake (and the goa'uld could hardly be counted on to keep their word) and he couldn't let the world burn either.

"Fine," said Sam. "But you're leaving if things go wrong."

"Trust me, Sam," said Harry, "I have no intention of dying for nothing."

"So you think we can defeat them?" asked Elliot, as Harry flew towards the ha'tak, evading oncoming fire.

"Maybe," said Harry. "And maybe we can hold them off long enough for the Asgard to come and enforce their treaty."

"They don't seem to be worried about the Asgard right now," said Elliot, who was thinning out a squadron of death gliders.

"I have orders from General Hammond," Hollowitz called out. "We're to fall back if we can't attain a clear advantage."

"Jack agreed to that?" Harry asked.

"He wasn't there," said Hollowitz.

They were taking fire from both the Death Gliders and the mother ship now, but the shields were holding strong for the time being. The ship was performing better than Harry could have hoped. Elliot was putting an incredible amount of energy into bombarding Anubis's shields. Meanwhile, Harry flew as though he had been born in zero gravity. For the first time since Anubis's arrival, Harry started to feel hopeful. Doctor Hollowitz echoed the thought.

"We're going to beat them," he said triumphantly.

Apparently he wasn't familiar with the concept of a Jinx. No sooner had the words left his mouth, than five ha'taks dropped out of hyperspace.

"Harry," called out Sam.

"Right," said Harry. "Retreating."

"**They're going to catch up with us,**" Lantash warned.

"That's why you're all going back to Area 51," said Harry.

"Don't for one second think that I'm going anywhere without you," said Sam.

"You're forgetting, Sam," said Harry, "what it was I did before I first shot myself across that room."

Before she could say anything more, Sam, Elliot, and Hollowitz turned into points of yellow energy that shot into the ring room, where they were relayed down to the cargo ship at Area 51.

Before Harry could do anything else, a voice from behind him spoke.

"Hello, Harry."

Harry tuned in shock. "Daniel," he whispered.

Daniel, dressed in white and seeming to have an almost imperceptible glow, smiled and knelt down so that they were at eye level. "It's me, Harry. I'm sure Jack told you what he knew about ascension."

Harry nodded. "So, I did the right thing?" he asked.

"You did, Harry, this is where I belong now."

"But, you can help us, Anubis is attacking Earth."

"That's why I'm here, Harry. But there are rules that go along with being Ascended. I can't interfere, not openly. I can't even send you back to Jack, even though I'd much rather do that."

"What can you do?" asked Harry warily.

"All I can do is remind you that what goes up, must come down."

"Well what does that mean?" asked Harry exasperatedly, only to discover that Daniel was no longer there. Harry gaped. How could something so cool be so utterly useless? And what was Daniel's message supposed to mean? There was nothing for it, but to go ahead with his rough plan.

Steeling himself for what needed to be done, Harry opened a channel. Anubis's figure once more graced his screen.  
"If I surrender," said Harry, "will you honor the original terms?"

!

Jack had never pushed Harry to relinquish his ship, because he had never seen it as a viable weapon against a goa'uld threat. Even with Harry's enhancements, the ship was outclassed by modern goa'uld technology. But that wasn't so clearly true, now that the Naquadria upgrades had been made.

Now he felt like kicking himself. And Sam. And the General. Jack at least hadn't given Harry his blessing to go fight Anubis, whose marketing strategy was being the most evil goa'uld in the galaxy. That was who Harry was setting himself against, twice now. And instead of radioing up to that damned ship and grounding Harry, Jack was following orders and getting the base ready for an attack.

Moving to Canada kept on sounding more and more like a good idea.

!

"**Why should I**?" asked Anubis. "**Your defeat is now assured.**"

"Because you want me," said Harry, "and I can destroy myself and this ship utterly."

"Very well," said Anubis. "Come here and surrender. Your world will be spared."

Harry nodded and ended the transmission, ignoring the one he was receiving from Earth.

"I hope I'll be coming home, Jack," he whispered. Of course, he had no intention of surrendering. Anubis would never keep his word. Making himself invisible, Harry opened a micro-hyperspace window and shot himself through it.

Appearing in the pel'tak of Anubis's ship, the first thing that Harry noticed was that the ball of plasma that he was trying to form in his hand wasn't appearing. The next thing he noticed was that said hand was not invisible. Realizing that something was very wrong, Harry tried to jump back to his ship. Nothing happened. Finally, Harry realized that he was surrounded.

The sound of a zat'ni'katel discharging from behind him was too little warning, and Harry fell to the ground convulsing. It was every bit as painful as he would have expected it to be. He blacked out.

Harry had no idea how long he was unconscious for, and when he painfully woke up, he couldn't find out. His hand device had been disabled. Worse, he was still surrounded, and he couldn't muster one bit of his force. Anubis stood before him, a black cloak hiding his face behind an odd shimmer.

"**What is your name?" **asked Anubis.

Whilst open defiance was awfully tempting, Harry decided instead to first get a better understanding of the situation. "Harry," he answered.

"**No longer,**" said Anubis, "**your name is now Gonach,**" literally meaning 'worm'. "**Please me, and you will be rewarded. Displease me, and you will be punished." **Something was pressed into Harry's neck, and Harry shouted in pain worse than the zat'ni'katel. He wanted to black out, but the goa'uld pain stick didn't allow that. "**Betray me,**" Anubis continued, "**and I will destroy your planet." **

"What is it you want?" asked Harry.

Again the pain stick was pushed into his neck. "You will address your god properly, Gonach," shouted the Jaffa wielding it.

Harry took shuddering breaths from the floor. "My Lord, what is it that you want of me?"

"**Very good, Gonach,**" said Anubis. "**You have learned your first lesson well. Let him rise,**" he commanded the Jaffa.

From behind him, hands slipped in under Harry's arms and lifted him up, supporting him until he was steady on his own feet.

"**Your abilities have proven formidable, Gonach. Formidable enough that I put nearly all of my resources into analyzing recovered sensor data in order to find a counter. You will be the template of a new breed of goa'uld soldier. In time you will be a teacher to these new soldiers.**"

Harry felt his stomach drop. He had been prepared for Anubis trying to take him as a host. That had been his plan B, to eject Anubis without his servants being any the wiser. He could then end the war in Anubis's name. But Anubis didn't even seem to want him to become a host. An army of soldiers with Harry's abilities following Anubis was the worst possible scenario.

"**Now tell me, Gonach: where are there more humans with your abilities.**"

Harry felt like laughing. The one thing that Anubis wanted to know right out, and Harry didn't even have the answer to betray to him.

"I'm the only one there is," said Harry.

The pain returned.

!

Back in Jack's house, Padfoot huffed in boredom from where he sat on the porch. Harry had been gone a lot lately, and so had Jack. He was considering transforming and finding something fun to do in muggle Denver. Not that he had much in the way of money, or the proper clothes. Plus, he had no idea what there was to do in the muggle world.

So he sat, with nothing to do. Until the tag on his collar began to shriek loudly in a tone that only his sensitive dog-ears could hear. Quickly making sure that no one could see him, Padfoot transformed into Sirius, who pulled off the collar to examine it. It had taken Sirius a week of careful silent spell casting during the night to link Harry with the tag on his collar, but he felt that it had been well worth it. The word emblazoned in red on one side sent a shiver down his spine though. 'Torture.' Sirius fumbled it over in his hand to read the apparition coordinates. Crap, how the hell was he supposed to apparate so high above the atmosphere? He hastily conjured a piece of parchment and a quill to calculate the appropriate margins of error for such an unorthodox apparition. He had to restrain himself from going without them. He'd do his godson no good if he arrived splinched nine ways to Sunday.

What the Hell had Harry gotten himself into now?

!

Thor wondered if Anubis was aware of how much time his consciousness had already spent within a computer before he had decided to link Thor's mind with his mothership's computer system. Thor had not yet determined whether his capture could be said to be fortuitous or not, but he was certainly determined to turn it to his advantage. Bit-by-bit, Thor took control of the ship's systems, and Anubis had yet to realize the fact. Yes, perhaps this could turn out well. Now to get into the ship's internal sensors… His attention was taken by what was happening on the bridge. Most interesting.

!

It was getting harder and harder for Harry to catch his breath after each time they used the pain stick on him. He felt like he was going to die, and he was starting to not dread it. Still, Harry had nothing to tell Anubis. Any clue he gave, whether real or made up, would only give Anubis an opportunity to hurt people in his search. Harry didn't think Anubis would fall for some place in the middle of nowhere that only looked empty. So he denied any knowledge, instead of pointing Anubis to the one person who might know something: his Aunt. Not that she deserved Harry's silence.

"**I could simply break into your mind,**" said Anubis, "**but I would much rather break you. Simple pain is often enough, but sometimes you have to find something else. It requires a certain creativity. Ba'al knew this, and like many artists, he had tools at his disposal that I have since inherited.**"

Harry cursed at him in goa'uld, and received another jab in the neck from the pain stick for his trouble. Anubis continued as though nothing had happened.

"**Perhaps you are attached to your appearance. You may think that anything that I do to you can be healed, but you are wrong." **Anubis crossed the room and picked up a short bladed, almost delicate looking dagger. "**A most interesting specimen; it is infused with a compound that prevents wounds from being erased by a sarcophagus. Perhaps you need a permanent reminder of the cost of defiance. Pin him down,**" he commanded the Jaffa.

Rough hands grabbed him and forced him down onto his stomach. Harry could see little other than Anubis's black boots in front of him. A tugging on his collar was followed by the snick of a very sharp knife passing through cloth. In under a second, his back was bare.

"**I can be merciful still,**" said Anubis. "**Your back can be covered, you will not have to show the world your shame." **He addressed the Jaffa wielding the knife. "**Write his name, there.**"

Whatever it was that was in the knife, it didn't only interfere with healing. The feeling that made Harry scream was that of acid traveling through his veins; 'Gonach' was a complex hieroglyph. His stomach heaved and he threw up on the boots of one of the Jaffa. One of those boots then kicked him in the face; Harry was pretty sure it broke his nose.

"**This will end when you answer me**," said Anubis.

Harry struggled to think through the pain. "I'm not from Earth," he cried, his voice distorted from his damaged nose and the blood flowing down his face. "My people have hidden on Aloesha for millennia, letting the planet appear to be deserted. I accidentally revealed myself to SG-1 when they went there. They thought I was alone there, they brought me back to Earth."

A black-gloved hand tangled itself in Harry's hair and he was lifted painfully up into the air until he was staring into Anubis's distorted face. "**You are lying." **Harry was dropped to the ground, and he didn't have the strength in him to catch himself.

Anubis addressed the Jaffa wielding the knife. "**Your former master commissioned you as a poet, did he not?**"

"He did, my lord," said the Jaffa.

"**Then certainly you know something concerning a servant who failed his master.**"

"It is very long, my lord."

"Then when you run out of room on his back, you may use whatever surface you deem suitable."

"Yes, my lord."

Harry nearly choked in despair, but his world was soon replaced by pain. He didn't know how long he stayed there, bucking, screaming, and crying. Time lost all meaning. Though he knew it was false, the feeling that his back would be stripped of flesh persisted. Eventually though, the Jaffa poet did run out of space.

"Turn him over," the Jaffa commanded. "Hold his head."

For an instant, it was as though all of the glyphs on Harry's back were being cut again as his back was pressed down. His head was held so that the left side was facing up, and the knife came down to slice just below Harry's eye. Finally, he could take no more.

"My Aunt!" he screamed. The cutting stopped, though the pain continued. "My Aunt raised me. She never told me about my parents, but she knew that I was like them. If anyone knows where to find what you want, it's her."

Harry was once more lifted up by his hair. This time, Anubis nodded. A moment later, a spray hit Harry's back, and the pain started to be replaced by numbness. A small swab was pressed against the small cut on Harry's face, and that too became numb. Harry's painful sobs were replaced by cries of relief. Hands slipped under his arms, and Anubis released Harry into them.

"**Honesty is always rewarded,**" said Anubis.

From what Harry could remember of Anubis's track record, that statement was far from the truth, but Harry was hardly in a shape to say so. As though his silence were being rewarded, something was jabbed into his neck, something other than the pain stick. With a sharp hiss, a cleansing fire seemed to spread through Harry. Energizing him somewhat, and making him feel a part of his former strength.

A holographic image of the Earth appeared in front of Harry, slowly rotating.

"**Now, show me where your Aunt is.**"

Harry settled onto his own feet. "I'll show you," he said. 'I'll show you something Jack taught me,' he thought.

Having stayed close to the two Jaffa who had been supporting him, Harry jabbed his hand into the Jaffa's throat on his left, crushing his windpipe. Using the dying Jaffa's for cover, he took the zat'ni'katel. Harry shot two more Jaffa before he dove for cover behind Anubis's throne. For the first time since he had arrived, Harry was able to fully take in his surroundings as he tore off the remains of his bloody shirt. There were four more Jaffa standing in the room, and aside from the usual control stations in the room, and the sickeningly large puddle of blood on the floor, there was also a squat round device that Harry would have bet anything on being what was keeping him from using magic. It was protected by a shield.

"**So this is when I must begin destroying your world, piece by piece,**" said Anubis loudly. Harry shot him with his zat'ni'katel, but though Anubis did not raise a shield, nothing happened.

Suddenly, one of the doors opened.

!

Sirius hadn't arrived as close to Harry as he would have liked. His calculations kept him from splinching himself, though they had been rushed. But they did nothing to make his accuracy any better over such a large trip. As it turned out he wasn't anywhere close to the boy, but at least he had arrived aboard the ship. His godson's need was immediate, so Sirius ran. A Disillusionment charm kept him from constantly having to confront enemy soldiers, though he had already had a couple of scuffles. A Point-Me charm kept him running towards Harry.

Suddenly, Sirius was completely visible again, and he could feel the magic leave the air. He stumbled, and he struggled to keep his balance, as though someone had pushed him from behind. He took a second to collect himself. He didn't know what had happened, or if, Merlin forbid, it was somehow permanent, but it didn't change the fact that he had to find his godson.

He went on, making more of an effort to be stealthy. He drew his small pocketknife, as it would make a better weapon than his wand. When he heard footsteps approaching, he hid himself in an adjacent corridor. When the soldier was walking past, Sirius leapt, knife outstretched.

!

Stephen had already been planning to see the President that day, what with the discovery of Pettigrew. He had also been planning to make an appointment.

One did not just burst into the Oval Office. Or at least, one didn't unless the entire world was in jeopardy. Having bypassed the President's secretary and security, Stephen Lee walked into the Oval Office. He winced when he saw the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General James Carmichael, as well as a few other important military figures.

"Mr. President," he said.

"Lee," said President Treadmore, "what in the Hell are you doing here?"

"My apologies, Mr. President, but we've detected a particular energy signature outside our atmosphere," he put an emphasis on the word 'particular', "and there seem to be six large, well, ships in orbit around the planet.

The President sighed. "We know about the ships."

General Carmichael spoke up. "Mr. President, who is this man?"

"Neither of you two gentlemen knows all of this offices secrets. Stephen, can you get people up there?"

"We tried sir, he bounced off some kind of energy screen that we're not familiar with." Read: not magic. "He nearly died from exposure when some of his protections were disrupted, and we still haven't found all of him as it is." They had sent the man via, Portkey, since it had been estimated to be safer than apparition over that distance and change in altitude. When he had failed to breach the screen, the man had panicked and tried to apparate back.

The general opened his mouth, but the President forestalled him with a raised hand. "Can you get around it?"

"Without knowing how it works, we couldn't begin to work a way around it. We warded the man nine ways to Sunday, but none of it helped."

"Doctor Nassief," said the President, "do you understand the theory behind the shields on their ships?"

"Yes, sir. It's basically a projected energy field of excited electrons and protons that-"

"I'm not the guy to talk to," Stephen interrupted.

"Then get someone here who is," said President Treadmore.

Stephen glanced uncertainly at the others in the office, but he had his orders. He pulled out his cell phone and called his assistant. "Jenny, I need my head of R&D in the Oval Office now… Yes now, I'm lowering the wards," he said, giving a surreptitious wave of his wand with his back to the others in the room. Have him use point C… yes, there are others here."

He ended the call and turned to everyone else. "He'll be here in," he checked his watch, "now."

The General wasn't the only one who looked frustrated at the wizened old man who inexplicably walked into the office, but the President soon had the two scientists off in a corner discussing the energy barrier.

"Lee," said the President, "I need to know if any other governments have detected what you did."

"I don't know, sir. The ships have stayed over the States, so if anyone's in the office this close to Christmas, maybe the Canadians. I wouldn't put any money on Mexico. Maybe Brazil, but I doubt it."

"I see. If you can get up there, can you bring soldiers along?"

"Not without breaking the International Statute, sir, and I would need a very compelling reason to."

"Very well," said President Treadmore. "Those six objects are interstellar starships, manned by incredibly hostile aliens, capable of leveling every city in the world."

Stephen swallowed. "Marcus," he called, "I need you over here."

"Yes, sir?"

"Those ships pose an imminent danger to the entire world. As a senior government official, I need you to witness a necessary and possibly irreversible breach of the 1689 International Statute of Secrecy. I hereby authorize said breach."

"But sir, the Head of State."

They both looked to President Treadmore, who was incapable of saying 'yes'.

"I'm not saying no," said the President, "and I'm not declining an answer."

"That's good enough for me," said Marcus hesitantly. "The breach is so noted as authorize."

"Gentlemen," said President Treadmore to the others in the room. "Keep in mind that I do not take the council of liars or the insane."

"Yes, sir," said the General.

Stephen cleared his throat. "Throughout recorded history, there have been people who can use an energy we call magic. Since the witch hunts, these people have lived in secret societies, generally hiding in plain sight. I am the Secretary of Magic, and I work at the pleasure of the President."

The General stared at him. "Can you get our people up there or not?"

"Marcus?" asked Stephen.

"Hypothetically, Portkeys should be able to get through the shields one in five times. Apparition on the other hand, should work every time, presuming suitable competence. But I don't think we have many people who can make the trip up there and through the shield with a passenger."

"What if we could get you closer to the enemy ships?" asked the General.

"Out of the atmosphere?" asked Marcus. "It would make things much easier if we took altitude out of the equation."

"We can risk getting as close as ten miles away from the ships without being detected," said Doctor Nassief.

"Right then," said the President. "Lee, James, I want a plan of action in ten minutes, and remember that this is a rescue mission as well."

"Who are we rescuing, sir?" asked Lee.

The president looked him in the eye. "Harry Potter."

!

Fearing the opening door to be delivering more Jaffa, Harry turned to point his zat'ni'katel at it. But the man who ran through, his own zat'ni'katel firing wildly was no Jaffa. He shot three of the remaining Jaffa before he had to dive for cover himself. Harry stepped out from behind the throne and shot the last remaining Jaffa. The man with long black hair stepped out as well and shot at Anubis, but once again there seemed to be no effect.

"**You cannot hope to defeat me with Zat'ni'katels,**" said Anubis. "**Your powers are useless Gonach, and I do not need the Jaffa rushing to the Pel'tak to destroy you." **

That was when the shield around the circular device dropped. The device itself stopped glowing. Harry wasted no time in slinging a ball of plasma at Anubis.

"Seal the room," he shouted to his rescuer.

Anubis stood still, as a hole in his robes burst aflame. Harry heard the other man say "Colloportus," confidently at the doors, which closed. Still, Anubis stood, now with no covering, revealing a black mass in a human shape, covered in a shield.

"What have you done to yourself?" Harry asked, disgusted by the sight in front of him.

"**I have ascended as a true god,**" said Anubis. "**I am all powerful. Surrender now, and some of your planet may be spared.**"

"I know of ascension, you bastard," Harry shouted. "You are an abomination."

"I'm not sure exactly what he's done to himself, Harry," said the man. "But it's clearly very dark and evil. You can't trust him at all." Like Harry needed to be told that.

And then, Anubis blurred. One second he was across the room, and the next he was in front of Harry, and a massive force in Harry's chest sent Harry crashing into the gold plated wall behind him. Harry blacked out momentarily as his head hit the wall, but he was soon back on his feet, albeit with a few broken ribs. He didn't know what had happened while he was down, but Anubis had now been slowed, and the strange man was shooting different colored bolts of energy at him as he tried to stay out of Anubis's reach. Getting a sudden inspiration, Harry shot himself across the room at Anubis.

The black mass had been ready for him, and while he was slowed, he was still unnaturally fast. There was a flurry of motion between the two of them, as Harry avoided letting Anubis get a hand on him. Finally, Harry managed to get behind Anubis, and in a desperate moment, he forced himself into the being's shield generator. Anubis became frozen in place. Panting for breath, Harry sank to his knees as he kept his mental control over Anubis's shield. He felt like death warmed over; everything hurt. In spite of the pain in his back, and his broken ribs, a large part of him wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, but he firmed his resolve.

"Harry," the man gasped at him.

"Hi," said Harry. "You're my godfather, right?"

"Yeah," the man nodded.

"I don't know where you were for most of my life, but thanks for looking after me this past year."

"It was the least I could do," said his godfather. "I'm Sirius, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," said Harry, closing his eyes for a moment.

"What did they do to you?" asked Sirius.

"What you can see," said Harry, "and a bit more."

A peculiar voice startled them both. "You cannot hope to hold him indefinitely."

"Who is this?" Harry asked.

"I am Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard. I am using the internal communications system of this ship to synthesize my voice."

"I didn't know we'd been able to reach you guys," said Harry. "If we lower the ship's shields, can you take care of Anubis?"

"You do not understand," said Thor. "I am a captive aboard this ship. My mind has been connected to its computer."

"Yeah," said Harry, "I know how that goes. Not very smart of Anubis."

"Quite," said Thor. "But aside from disabling the suppression field, I am unable to render further assistance. You will have to find a way of disposing of Anubis yourself before he is able to circumvent your control over him."

"Any ideas?" asked Harry.

"If what he has done does resemble ascension, then it may be impossible to kill him through any conventional means."

"How about you?" Harry asked Sirius.

"I know of a couple of methods for containing a soul that's been separated from it's body, but one takes seven wizards to perform, and the other uses a complex rune circle, and you'd have to do it yourself."

"I see," said Harry, ignoring the comment about wizards. "How much of an option is the later?"

"Not much of one," said Sirius. "It would take a lot of prep, and I don't know if you could use the spell and contain this guy at the same time."

"We cannot afford for Anubis to escape death once more," said Thor. "Can you think of nothing else?"

"No, I…" Harry trailed off. "What goes up, must come down," he repeated.

"What thought has occurred to you?" asked Thor.

"I got a visit from an actual ascended being just before I got here," said Harry. "That's what he said. I don't know if it would kill him or contain him, but I don't think Anubis can escape the gravitational pull of the Sun."

"The idea has merit," said Thor.

"Does the ship have any smaller hyperdrive capable craft?" he asked.

"The only ships capable of hyperspace present are the ha'taks," said Thor, "and I would not trust any craft in Anubis's possession, not even this one. Do you not have your own?"

"I do," said Harry. It didn't have hyperspace though.

"Sirius, that crystal over there," Harry said pointing to the control crystal sitting on the weapons station. "Can you bring it here?"

"Yeah," said Sirius, moving towards it, "isn't this a part of your bracelet?"

"Yeah," said Harry. "It looks like Anubis took pains to remove it without damaging it, but it should go right back in." Doubtless, Anubis had planned to use it to gain access to Harry's ship.

"Here," said Sirius, handing Harry the crystal.

Keeping his right hand on Anubis, Harry slipped the crystal back into place, smiling slightly as he felt the connection to his ship reform.

"Thor," said Harry, "if it came to it, could you use this ship against the other ha'taks?"

"I believe that I could," said Thor, "with a little more time."

"Right," said Harry. "Hey, Sirius, take care of yourself."

"Harry," said Sirius, "why are you saying goodbye?"

"Just leave the ship if it gets dangerous," said Harry.

With that, he shot himself and Anubis to his ship.

!

Jeffries, who was now a Second Lieutenant, felt like his head was spinning. Aliens were real. Not just that, his government had been fighting them for years in secret. And now Jeffries had to fight them. He was glad that his partner was there to watch his back; the boy had proven himself in the last few months. Anderson wasn't strong enough to carry a muggle through the enemy's wards, but every wand counted.

Less than a quarter of an hour ago, they had been given coordinates to the mountain complex that had always been off-limits to them, more so than other military installations. Since then, they had been given a brief crash course in everything alien: the layout of their ships, their weapons, their soldier, and the fact that they could possess you and turn you against your friends. Not that a dark wizard couldn't do that anyway. Now, having been fitted with a snake like stun weapon, and (he hadn't been the only one horrified when they had revealed it) a magical shield, they were waiting outside for the 'cargo ship' that would take them in range of the enemy ships.

With his partner on one side of him, and the Air Force Captain he would be apparating with on the other, he reflected on their mission. They would be planting explosive devices in strategic positions in order to destroy the ships. Never before would the Auror Corps have been responsible for so many deaths. Of course, never before had the Auror Corps been responsible for _saving_ so many lives. Still, he'd probably be relying on more than a little scotch to fall asleep that night. That was, if he made it back to his family alive.

!

Jack stood stoically on the cloaked cargo ship as it speedily flew into outer space. His face betrayed none of the stormy emotions he felt. Heads would roll. It couldn't be Sam's; she'd done her best to keep Harry safe. Couldn't be Harry's; that was the whole point of the rescue mission. Anubis though: Jack would gladly slaughter the goa'uld, and any Jaffa that got in his way. No one who hurt his son would be safe. He made a mental note to remember that doctor, Hollowitz from Area 51. Jack gladly stewed in his anger, because it was better than the alternative.

Beside him, his assigned witch, Henrietta Sparks, looked nervous. Jack couldn't blame her; she had just found out that hostile aliens existed, and that she had to fight them. Not that Jack hadn't been thrown for a loop. They had never suspected that so many people like Harry were out there: societies of Witches and Wizards all over the world. Daniel would be drooling over the whole thing. Jack was reserving his opinion on the matter; as long as they helped get Harry back, and they didn't get in his way, then live and let live was a fine way to go about the situation.

"Colonel O'Neill," said Teal'c, "we are as close as we can safely be."

Jack turned to Henrietta, a First Lieutenant Auror, apparently. "You know where we're going?"

"Yes, Sir," she said. "One corridor away from their command center, where the magical signature was heading."

"Good," said Jack, "you ready?"

"An Auror is always ready, Sir."

Jack raised his voice to all forty-three people in the ship. "Alright, you all know where you're going, you all have at least one person with you who knows what they're doing. We're all strangers right now, but we're all saving this planet. Failure is not an option. We leave on my mark." He paused for effect. "Mark."

As it turned out, Apparation was his least favorite method of instantaneous travel. Jack didn't let that slow him down as he, Henrietta, Sam, Teal'c, and a couple of wizards named Kirk and Shimizu all popped into existence aboard Anubis's mothership. The three (was there a unisex word for them? Did 'wizards' suffice for groups?) magical persons began chanting. They were setting up an 'anti-apparition ward' to keep whoever was already on the ship from leaving.

"Sir," Captain Torres's voice came over the radio, he had been left to man the cargo ship. "I've been detected, I'm taking enemy fire."

"Get out of there, Captain."

"I've got death gliders on my-" the line went dead.

Jack looked at his somber team. "Can we get back down?" he asked.

"Going down's easy," said Kirk, "as long as the ward is down… shield."

Walter's voice suddenly came on their radios from the SG-C. "All teams be advised, ship shields must now be down before exit."

"Let's go," said Jack, after he acknowledged the message. They made their way to the doorway to the bridge, hearing the sound of staff fire and banging around the corner. Jack brought them to a halt. "You can make us invisible?" Jack whispered to Henrietta.

"Not quite," the witch whispered back, "but very nearly."

"Then get to it," said Jack.

The woman held out her wand and hit him on the head with it. The feeling was that of an egg dripping down his head, but soon he could see the difference. He looked like he was made of plastic. Not quite invisible, but it would provide them with a tactical advantage. Jack stuck his head around the corner as everyone else got the same treatment. He counted twenty Jaffa trying to get through the bridge doors, but they seemed to be holding up better than Jack had ever seen.

He pulled back to face his team and explained the situation. Then Jack and Sam tossed out grenades at the Jaffa. They heard shouts of alarm before the grenades went off, then they all stepped out around the corner. Traditionally, they would have used the cross-corridor for cover, but their shields had changed the playing field. Not wanting to allow the Jaffa time to call for back up, they all stepped out into the corridor firing.

Jack counted staff blasts, even as he tried not to be hit by them. He took two to the chest, straight off, and another two would break the shield. He fired his P-90 with as much precision as he could. Three shots to the chest, and then on to the next target. Distantly, he noticed Jaffa falling to red and blue bolts of energy from the wizards. Finally, all of the Jaffa were felled. Jack turned to check on his team.

"You okay, T?" he asked, noting Teal'c's smoldering and half-visible shoulder.

"I will be well," said Teal'c.

"Well?" asked Kirk exasperatedly, waving his wand. "Hellato," the guy said, and Teal'c's shoulder stopped smoking. "Epiksy," the wizard said, and the shoulder started to look better. "Here," said Kirk, holding out a vial containing a blue liquid. "It'll help with the pain.

"I thank you for your medical aid," said Teal'c stoically, "but I require no medication."

"Suit yourself," said Henrietta, "we need to get through those doors."

The team advanced, stepping over the bodies of the Jaffa littering the floor.

"They've been locked magically," said Shimizu, after examining the doors, "it'll take me a minute."

"Then do it," said Jack, as he took up a defensive position with Teal'c, knowing that Sam would watch the door. However, the corridor remained suspiciously empty.

"They should have had backup by now," he said.

"Got it," said Shimizu. Jack turned as the door opened, and they all rushed in.

"Freeze," said Sam to the lone man in the room.

"You!" Jack accused.

"Sirius Black," said Henrietta, "wards prevent your escape." The man took a defensive position, but she went on. "Peter Pettigrew has been captured in Britain, and his Veritaserum confession has cleared your name. You must now place yourself into our custody in order to clear up your actions for the past year."

Jack's trained eyes flit over the room, taking in every body, none of which seemed to be cut in any way. His eyes were drawn to the blood. "Screw that," said Jack. "Where's Harry?"

The man, Harry's supposed godfather, Sirius Black apparently, stared at them, his eyes flying wildly over the odd assortment of soldiers and wizards. "He left," he finally said. "Anubis couldn't be killed, so Harry took him to his ship. He said he was going to put Anubis into the Sun."

"Sir," said Sam warily.

"What do you mean he couldn't be killed?" asked Jack. "What the Hell are you talking about?"

"O'Neill," came a very familiar voice.

"Thor," said Jack, allowing himself to feel the slightest bit of relief, "you here to save the day, or are you giving me the job again?"

"I am a captive aboard this ship, O'Neill. However, I have effectively taken control of the majority of its systems."

"He turned off the anti-magic field," said Black helpfully.

"Anti-magic field?" shrieked Henrietta, shocked.

"Yeah," said Sirius, "that thing." He pointed to a badly mangled goa'uld device. "I destroyed it to be safe, but magic stopped working a couple corridors over. I had to get one of their weapons just to get over here."

"That's impossible," said Kirk.

Sirius shrugged.

"This ship does not need to be destroyed," Thor continued. "It would be appreciated if your teams were to cease planting explosive on this ship. Were my body to be protected, it would safeguard my control over the computer systems."

"Teal'c," Jack delegated. He addressed Thor. "What is happening with Harry?" he asked.

"Anubis has evolved into a form that partially resembles that of an ascended being. He was contained by a shield, which your son was able to manipulate using his abilities. However such containment could not be maintained indefinitely, so it was hypothesized by him that Anubis could be contained by the Sun's gravitational pull. It is worrisome though."

"What is?" asked Jack, not bothering to wonder how Thor knew that Harry was his son. It wasn't exactly a secret that the Asgard kept tabs on them.

"He should be back by now. Presumably, he would have commanded his ship into hyperspace before abandoning it himself. The ship would be destroyed as it tried to pass through the Sun in hyperspace before Anubis could have conceivably reacted. However, his ship is now traveling towards the sun at sub-light speeds."

Jack felt his stomach plummet as his heart was engulfed in ice. "Get him up there," he ordered, putting every iota of the command he could into his voice as he pointed at the window that doubled as a view screen. "Get him up there now!" He turned to Henrietta. "Can you get me over there?" he asked.

"How far away is he?" she asked cautiously.

"He is nearly forty-million miles away," answered Thor.

Henrietta's face paled. "No one can apparate that far."

"Death gliders are faster," Jack muttered to himself, doing the math. "Get a single-manned glider out there now, have Davies pilot."

"Harry's never jumped into anything that confining," said Sam as the order was relayed.

Black spoke up, addressing Henrietta. "Do any of your people know the seven point soul-containing enchantment?"

Henrietta looked at him dumbfounded. "Who the Hell knows that off the top of their head?"

"Never mind," said Sirius.

"Jack!" Jack looked up at the screen. Even after the battle over Revanna, Jack had never seen Harry look so terrible. It was in his eyes, though the broken and bloody nose didn't help either. "Good," said Harry with a small smile that didn't come close to his eyes, "I was looking for Sam and you back at the SG-C. It's sort of hard to brainstorm with just one brain. Um… I was thinking that if you could send that cargo ship my way, that would really make things work out real good. Funny how the brain can mess with you," his grin looked awful, "I really forgot we had the thing."

Distantly, Jack thought that things must be bad indeed if Harry was letting grammar fly out the window. "The cargo ship's gone, Harry. You need to turn your ship around now, we'll work this out some other way."

"Harry," said Sam, "have you tried to delete the programming in Anubis's shield device," said Sam, "make it so that he doesn't have anything to work with."

Harry shook his head. "There aren't any commands to delete," he said. "Anubis dominates it with his will, just like I do. But my will is starting to slip, and his is as strong as ever. As it stands, I don't know if I could hold him all the way."

"There is no all the way, Harry," said Jack. "Come back. If Anubis gets away, then we'll just find another way to stop him some other day."

"I don't want to die, Jack," Harry said earnestly, "and I don't want to leave you alone, but you don't remember him. I don't even, not really, but I do know that he infected millions of people across dozens of planets with a hemorrhagic virus so bad that their gates were destroyed, and they haven't been visited since, in all these thousands of years. He did it because the other System Lords snubbed him. I didn't witness it, Jack, but I know his track record. How can I justify letting him free?"

"Your parents died for you, Harry," shouted Black, desperation in his voice. "You can't throw that away."

"I'm not," said Harry. "I'm bargaining, one life for a galaxy. I don't know what really happened to my parents, but if they died for me, then my sacrifice amplifies their own."

"Damn it, Harry," said Jack, "it's not your job to do this."

"I know that," Harry shouted. "I don't want this. But we don't have much choice her. Look Jack, I want to thank-" Harry's voice became incomprehensibly garbled and a second later, his image left the screen.

"Sam, what happened," he asked turning, but Sam wasn't there.

"Major Carter has left," said Teal'c. "She informed Second Captain Kirk that it was imperative she be returned to Stargate Command. I believe that she did not want your conversation to be interrupted. However, I believe it is likely that your Son's ship lacks the technology to transmit while so close to a star."

Sam had a plan; that was something. Jack turned to Black. "What happened here?" he asked. "What made him think that this was an option?"

"I don't know," said Black, "I only saw that they had carved hieroglyphs into his back. I only got here when that was over though."

Jack felt a sick rage swell up in him and looked around, but seemingly all of the Jaffa responsible were dead, probably from double blasts from a zat.

"Can we overtake him?" Jack asked out loud. "Maybe take out his engines."

"We could not catch up with him in time on sublight speed," answered Thor, "and I do not have enough access to grant you control over the hyperdrive."

Jack swallowed, though he didn't have any saliva to work with. "What can we do?" he asked.

"We can do nothing," said Teal'c.

"Right," said Jack. He closed his eyes and counted to three in his head. He opened his eyes. "This is our command center, let's coordinate with the other teams. With Thor here, let's make this the fallback point. I want an occupying force over here to hold this ship. Thor, what can you do to help?"

All Jack could do was hope, and he wasn't very good at that. Whatever Sam was up to, she held more than just Harry's life in her hands.

!

"Lee," said Sam into the telephone receiver jammed against her ear with her shoulder while she tried to get past the various security measures on the safe nestled within the wall. The security was useless against the most likely would-be thief. "What are you doing right now…Not anymore, I need you to get some equipment and meet me in my lab… Yeah, get something to write with."

!

"**You cannot believe that you will be able to sacrifice your life to destroy me,**" Anubis's voice finally rang out.

Harry refused to groan. Of all of the things for Anubis to win control of, his voice at least gave him no real advantage. Harry answered instead. "Your Jaffa would do the same in an instant if you commanded them."

"**You have no god to fight for**," said Anubis.

"Nor do your Jaffa," said Harry, gritting his teeth as a wave of pain spread through his tender back. The numbing agent had worn off, and his healing abilities could only do so much at once. He didn't waste the effort it would take to silence Anubis.

"**You waste your efforts,**" said Anubis, "**I will escape the Sun, and you will not be alive to face me.**"

"If that were true," said Harry, straining, "you wouldn't have told me. I'd die, and you'd be on your way laughing. If you could actually laugh."

"**This star will die**," said Anubis, "**I can wait any length of time." **

Harry thought he should have been laughing at that, but he couldn't muster it. "You really are getting desperate. You really think that's a plan? Maybe you could survive millions of years in a star, and then it's destruction. I doubt it, but you'll find out, sooner or later. Still, if you survive, do you really think you'll be significant then? The people strewn across this galaxy would have thrived in that time."

"**You will be dead today!" **Anubis roared.

"But the people I love won't be," said Harry. "All things considered, I think my ten years beats your ten thousand."

"**Fool**," said Anubis. "**You cannot save your world, dead. My mother ship may have been taken, but there are five more that will rain fire down on the planet in my name.**"

Harry gritted his teeth, as a wrong movement seemed to make the broken skin on his back slide against itself. The sweat running down from his neck wasn't helping things either. "My friends will surprise you," he said, "or they would if you were around for it."

Was it getting hot? The feeling of dread in his stomach intensified, and not for the first time, he wondered if he could truly go through with his plan. He certainly hadn't lied when he had told Jack that he didn't want to die, no matter how much pain he was in. He shut down that line of thought; he couldn't think of what this would do to his father.

Of course, Harry shouldn't give up on thoughts of survival. Surely there was some way to get rid of Anubis, and not die in the process. Ideas flit in and out of his head as he considered them; each more unlikely than the next. Finally, Harry thought that perhaps he had struck gold.

It was really quite stupid of him, any goa'uld would have thought of it first, but Harry had relied too much on the force. What he should have done was rely on a computer. The first step was easy, connect one of the ship's computers, cut off from the rest of the ship of course, to Anubis's shield generator. Ignoring Anubis's threats and posturing wasn't so easy, but he managed. The next part was hard, and Harry was working from scratch. He had to write a program that would both control the shield generator, and fight against Anubis's will.

Given enough time, Harry figured that he could definitely do it. Perhaps not indefinitely, but it was long enough for his purposes. But Harry had only as long as he could stay within range of the death glider without said Death Glider becoming trapped by the Sun's gravitational pull. The display, showing the sun, his ship, the glider, and the glider's point of no return, became something of a ticking clock as Harry tried desperately to complete the program in time. Finally though, with only two minutes left, Harry had to admit defeat. With the program less than half done, he had no hope for success.

Sliding his hand down to Anubis's faux leg to keep contact, Harry sat down cross-legged, and cried. Anubis's derisive taunts finally hitting their mark, but they couldn't change his resolve. With everything left to live for, and only ten short years behind him, he was going to die. Harry only hoped that Jack could understand.

Harry was pretty sure that Jack wouldn't face death sitting on the floor crying though, and with that thought in mind Harry stood, wiping his face. The sun was looming rather large in its holographic projection in the front of the command center. Anubis was asking him if he could truly face nothingness, and Harry replied that nothingness would sure hurt a lot less. He meant it.

Suddenly, Harry noticed a stream of programming code coming in through the back door that Doctor Hollowitz had installed. Thinking that it was an attempt to force him to turn around, Harry moved to counteract the programming, but seeing what it was doing, he did nothing.

Turning to Anubis, Harry plastered his fake smile on his face and tremulously said, "You lose," before giving one last command to his ship and jumping away. Somewhere on Earth, someone had relayed the contents of Harry's hyperdrive command crystal to the captured ha'tak, which had relayed it to the death glider, which had finally relayed it to Harry. Aboard Harry's ship, Anubis would have had less than a second with which to escape before the ship was destroyed by trying to pass through the Sun's gravitational pull, which had enough of a presence in hyperspace. The scattered remains of the ship, and its contents, were contained within the sun.

Harry's smile was torn off by a strangled yelp when his back was pressed into the too large co-pilot's chair in the death glider. The last thing he did before succumbing to unconsciousness from the exertions of the day and his largest jump to date, was push himself to slump forward to keep his back safe.

!

Aboard Anubis's former mothership, Jack coordinated with the teams trying to secure the ship. There had been a lot of fighting so far, but a lot less than there could have been, with Thor gaining more and more control over the ship. Doors were opened or closed at his command; parts of the ship were voided of atmosphere. Relatively speaking, things were going smoothly.

Outside, three of the five ha'taks had been destroyed, and another had been crippled when the explosives aboard it had failed to cause the chain reaction that they had been hoping for. They had lost contact with one of the teams sent over to the last one though. Jack spoke into his radio.

"Colonel Smith, what's your status?"

The leader of SG-7 replied. "Our section's still secure, we're feeling a little redundant back here."

"Copy that," said Jack, "get your team ready, I want you to apparate over to the engine room of the last ha'tak and carry out Major Stabler's mission. If possible, discover his teams fate and recover them."

"Yes sir."

"Lieutenant," Jack addressed Elliot, who had been given a position on the bridge. "Get their wizards the proper coordinates."

"Yes sir, Colonel," Elliot replied before carrying out his orders. Jack went back to overseeing the systematic sweep of the ship to contain or kill all enemy Jaffa, adjusting for the lack of SG-7.

"Sir," Elliot said urgently.

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"The ha'tak just jumped away, Sir."

"Was SG-7 aboard?" asked Jack.

"They were," said Elliot, troubled. "They hadn't radioed back in yet."

"Alright," said Jack. "Alert Stargate Command. For now at least, their lives are in their own hands." The ha'tak must have been commanded by a goa'uld; no Jaffa would have run away like that.

A voice came over the radio. "Central, this is Captain Doyle, we were just ambushed from behind. It's supposed to be clear behind us."

"Casualties?" asked Jack.

"We're fine," the Captain replied. "We're just surprised."

"Copy that," said Jack, "hold on." He looked up. "Thor, any idea what's going on?"

"It is possible that some of the Jaffa in sections of the ship that I had voided of oxygen entered a state of deep Kel'no'reem and faked death. Now that I am looking, I can see several life forms on the sensors that should not be there."

"Right," said Jack, "Elliot, call up the sensor readouts for the levels we've already taken."

He groaned at the fifteen unaccounted for life forms roaming the ship. "Alright," he said, "lets do this again. Thor, would you just seal them off again, and maybe kill them properly this time?"

"I will endeavor to do so, O'Neill."

"Colonel," called out Henrietta.

"Yes… First Lieutenant," he said, remembering her Auror rank. "I'm not sure, but I think this thing is saying that that death glider is coming back."

"Hail them," Jack ordered Elliot. Jack hoped it was a them.

"Colonel," Captain Davies voice came over the room's speakers. "I've got your son."

Jack sagged in relief. "How is he?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, sir. He passed out as soon as he got here."

"Alright," said Jack, "it's still not safe here. Take him to the SG-C directly."

"Copy that, Sir."

The transmission ended, Jack turned to Elliot. "You any good with a healing device."

"Lantash is, Sir," Elliot answered.

"Then get down there ASAP and do everything you can."

"Yes sir."

For the first time since this had all started, Jack closed his eyes and let his shoulders relax. Whatever was wrong with Harry could be healed, and Earth was safe, for the time being. Things were going to be okay.

A/N: Please review, I want to know what you all thought.


	17. 16 Shut Down

Disclaimer: I neither own, nor am I affiliated with the Harry Potter or Stargate franchises. I'm just borrowing from them for my own amusement.

Shut Down

Janet Frasier had seen many terrible things done to the human body during her tenure at the SG-C, and before. But never before had she seen such methodical sadism poured into the body of a child.

"Alright people," she said to her trauma team as they rode down the elevator with Harry's gurney, "this boy was in the hands of the enemy for over two hours. Now he has a healing device waiting for him in the infirmary, but we know they can't heal everything, and we don't know yet the full extent of the trauma. I want you all on your toes. Matthew, I want your eyes on his vitals throughout the healing, the process can be rough." The elevator doors opened. "Let's move, people!"

They stormed into the infirmary, where Lieutenant Elliot was waiting.

"Mother, Marry, and Joseph," the young Tok'ra said at the sight of Harry, before his head dipped and his eyes flashed.

"**Bring him here,**" Lantash commanded. "**What else was done to him?**" he asked.

"The only thing we can see is the mark of a pain stick in his neck," Janet answered.

Lantash nodded and held out the healing device over Harry's back. Around him, Janet and her team worked hooking Harry up to different machines and inserting an IV while the healing device's golden rays lit up the area. When all that they could do for the moment was done, Janet stepped back and observed Lantash. She didn't like the frown on his face.

In spite of her warning, there was a part of her that saw the healing device as a miracle heal-all. She had hoped that once they had gotten Harry to the Tok'ra, all would be well. An examination of Harry showed that the mark on his neck was gone as though it had never been. The numerous cuts on Harry's back were another story. There was hardly any change. Harry squirmed under Lantash's ministrations, but didn't otherwise regain consciousness. Finally, Lantash stopped.

"Well?" said Janet.

"**Something is preventing me from healing the knife wounds. They will likely heal on their own, and I don't think that scarring can be avoided.**"

"Alright," said Janet, "we'll see what we can do on our end. Matthew, Alice, I want that cleaned and dressed." She turned back to Lantash. "What else can you tell me about his condition?"

"**The pain stick was used extensively,**" said Lantash, "**he suffered a minor blow to the head, and a short-lasting stimulant was administered. Right now, his body is simply too overwhelmed, both from the torture, and the ensuing events.**"

"I see," said Janet, taking small comfort from the fact that little more had happened to Harry than they had already suspected. "Thank you for your help, we may need you to stay here if more wounded come in."

"Of course, Doctor Frasier," Elliot answered.

!

As a fisherman, Jack was usually good at waiting. But as a parent, he was terrible. The ship was mostly under their control, though a few Jaffa were still holding out in a few sections of the ship. Still, they'd had no further word on Harry's condition.

Right then, it was just himself, Teal'c, and Henrietta on the bridge. Sam and her wizard were still on Earth and Black had been taken to Earth by Teal'c's wizard. Somewhere.

Suddenly, Thor's voice came on over the pel'tak's speakers.

"Four ships are approaching, O'Neill," he said.

"Crap," said Jack. "Do you have control of all weapons yet?"

"They are Asgard," Thor clarified.

'Now they come,' Jack thought as he said, "Well, I can see why you wouldn't say that right off."

"I am alerting them of our situation," said Thor; as usual he ignored Jack's sarcasm.

Jack nodded. He'd seen what the Asgard did to goa'uld who broke the protected planets treaty, and he didn't want to be mistaken for one. A few minutes later, an Asgard face came on the screen. Jack didn't recognize it, but then Thor was the only one he recognized on sight.

"Greetings, Colonel O'Neill," he said, (was it a he?) "I am Commander Ysengrin." (That didn't clarify anything.) "Supreme Commander Thor has lowered the ship's shields, and we will be sending a team of engineers to remove Commander Thor and his consciousness from the ship. The Jaffa aboard your ship have been removed. When we are finished with Supreme Commander Thor, we will be conducting a complete reformatting of the ship's computers in order to remove all information sensitive to the Asgard. The ha'tak's functionality will be preserved with its anti-theft programming excluded."

"I see," said Jack slowly. The Asgard were very good at coming to save the day, but it always seemed like they waited until blood had already been shed.

"Do you require further assistance?" asked the Asgard with the funny name.

"We had some people on a mothership that left the system. Maybe you could help track them down…"

"We tracked one ha'tak that left this system. It was destroyed when it was unable to decelerate when it came out of hyperspace in orbit around a planet. The ship was incinerated as it unsuccessfully attempted to pass through the atmosphere. The probability of there being any survivors is minimal. However, we will send a ship there to search."

Jack felt like cursing, even as he thanked Ysengrin. Disabling the shields and engines of a ship as it dropped out of hyperspace around a planet was a tactic SG-1 had used a couple of times, but they'd always had an escape contingency.

Jack ended his conversation with Ysengrin and turned to Henrietta. "Lieutenant," he started, but she gave him a look. "First Lieutenant," he corrected, "time to go. I'm needed on Earth now. Teal'c, you have the bridge. Make sure everything with the Asgard goes smoothly."

"Do they not typically prefer to conduct their dealings on Earth with you?" asked Teal'c.

"Yeah, well they're not the only ones," said Jack, thinking of his son.

Though he would have rather gone straight to the infirmary when he reached the SG-C, Jack instead first sought out the General to give him a report.

George was in understandably high spirits, and Jack's news only served to raise them. Jack though, seemed to only be able to focus on the bad.

"What's your opinion on the wizards?" asked the General.

Jack considered the question. "They're useful to have around, sir. It's almost like having your very own Asgard beaming device, and those wands seem to be able to do just about anything. I don't know if we can trust them though."

The General nodded. "I don't know that we'll be able to keep any of them around anyway," he said. "Their liaison seemed reluctant to divulge any more information than he had to. Though he did mention that there were a hand-full of wizards dispersed through the military, separate from any other official wizard organization."

"That might mean that they're not trained to use magic in battle," Jack commented.

"Quite possibly," the General agreed.

"Where's Black?" Jack asked.

"As I understand it," said George, "he's being dealt with. Whatever that means, they haven't been willing to clarify."

Jack grunted. If the wizards wanted to run and pretend that the whole thing had never happened, that was fine with him. But he wanted some answers first.

"Jack," said George, "I won't keep you any longer. I have a direct line to the mother ship if I need to know anything else. I'm sure you would much rather be on your way to the infirmary."

Jack nodded distractedly. "Thank you, sir," he said, and walked out of the General's office.

The walk down to the infirmary seemed overly long to Jack, a part of him remembering how Harry had looked and sounded when they had last spoken. Perhaps it was dread that slowed his footsteps.

Sometimes, being a parent sucked.

Finally, he reached the infirmary, and his eyes were instantly drawn to Harry. He frowned in confusion when he saw his son lying on his stomach, his back heavily bandaged. Why hadn't it been healed already?

"Colonel," called out Janet softly. She waved him over. Jack looked at Harry, torn, but he went over to her.

"Why isn't he healed?" he asked her sharply, but quietly.

"Anubis used something to interfere with healing," said Janet. "Lantash isn't familiar with whatever it is; we're running tests now. However, it looks like Harry will have to heal on his own, and it will scar."

Jack swore under his breath. "Alright, let's try getting one of those wizards down here."

"You think they can do something?" asked Janet.

"One of them did a decent job of fixing up a staff wound on Teal'c's shoulder," said Jack.

"And you never sent him here for treatment?" asked Janet.

"He said he was fine," said Jack, ignoring the look she gave him.

Jack wound up getting Henrietta down to the infirmary, at which point she told him that healing cuts was a part of basic field medicine for Aurors. Jack was finally led over to Harry's bedside with Henrietta. Harry actually looked considerably better than he had when Jack had seen him up on the pel'tak's screen. But he still seemed fairly sickly and unsettled, even in sleep. Janet pulled out some clothes shears to open up the bandages, but Henrietta cleared her throat and said, "Let me."

She waved her wand and muttered something that Jack didn't understand, and suddenly, the bandages were moving in a way that Jack found hard to follow with his eyes. Before he knew it, there was one, neat, clean, roll of bandage next to Harry's back, which was neither neat nor clean. Jack felt rage and anguish sweep over him, and he wished that there was someone still alive for him to take his anger out on. Instead, he took a seat and looked up at Henrietta, who looked as horrified as he felt. She stood there for a moment before stealing herself, as though reminding herself that she had seen worse. For all Jack knew, she had.

She held her wand out again and with a grand flourish she said "Epiksy," as that wizard had done to Teal'c. Slowly, haltingly, the many cuts began to heal, and even unconscious, Harry squirmed as the magic did it's work. Henrietta frowned. "It's scarring," she said, "it shouldn't be scarring, not when the wounds are this recent."

Jack sighed, and Janet spoke up. "Anubis used some kind of compound on his back. We were expecting it to scar in the first place. Thank you for your help."

"Can you remove the scars?" Jack asked, pulling his eyes up from Harry.

Henrietta shook her head. "Scars have always been resistant to healing magic, especially in wizards. The body tries to hold on to them for some reason."

Jack didn't even try to wrap his head around that. He just thanked the woman and dismissed her, turning back to watch his son. Harry seemed to be mostly awake by this point, and finally he opened his eyes. He squinted them and asked, "Where am I?"

"You're in the infirmary," Jack said.

"Why am I on my stomach?… Oh yeah."

"It's healed now," said Jack, "but it's scarred, in spite of the healing device, and in spite of magic."

"Magic?" Harry asked, confused. "There's no such…. That's what they call it then? Is that how you got up there, you met more people like me?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah," he said, "but that's a conversation for later."

Harry nodded. "If it's healed, I doubt she'll be able to do much now," said Harry, "short of a skin graft, anyway. Anubis said that not even a sarcophagus could fix it. I think I believe him on that one."

Jack shook his head. "Damn it Harry, why did you go over there?"

"I wasn't surrendering," said Harry earnestly, he grimaced as he pushed himself up on the bed, and shifted to face Jack with his legs dangling over the side of the side of the bed. "I went there to fight, but they surprised me with that anti-force device."

"You think that makes it better? That you went to fight?" Jack asked, though truthfully, it did.

"What else was I supposed to do?" asked Harry. I don't know how you got up there and took those ships, but at the time, it seemed like the only thing to do. Was I supposed to find a hole in Sri Lanka to hide in while Anubis scoured the Earth for me?"

Jack scowled. "I get why you tried to take on his mothership, Harry. I even get why you went over there. I don't like it, but I get it. But damn-it, why did you think you could trade your life to get rid of him?"

"I told you already," said Harry heatedly.

"Well try again," said Jack peevishly.

"I don't want to die," said Harry earnestly, "and I didn't want to then either. I'm the happiest I've ever been, with you, here, and with my friends and your team. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, Harry, I know."

"There wasn't another way to neutralize Anubis," said Harry. "I tried to get the cargo ship, and I even tried to find a way to hold Anubis without having to be present. But I couldn't, and he would have gotten back to his power-base, and he would have gone on being the galaxy's most dangerous system-lord. I value my life, Jack, but not as much as the lives of everyone I know. Heck, how could I be so selfish as to let even the people I don't know die?"

"Well I want you to be selfish," said Jack.

"But you're not," said Harry. "How many times have you gone on missions you didn't think you'd come back from? I know you'd give your life for others, and I'm proud of you. Can't you just be proud of me?"

"I am proud of you Harry, but it kills me to see you in danger."

Harry hung his head at that, and Jack nudged it up by his chin. "I do love you enough to put up with it, though."

Harry flung his arms around Jack, and Jack gingerly put his around Harry's back. "Look," said Jack. "The System Lords are gone, the goa'uld are in disarray, I think the universe could do without us for a while. Let's get out of here, leave the Stargate behind for a while."

Harry nodded into his chest, and Jack hoped that maybe for a while, everything could work out all right. Gradually, he realized that Harry was getting heavier in his arms, and upon closer examination, he saw that the boy was falling asleep again.

Jack helped Harry get into the infirmary bed, this time allowing him to lie on his back, now that it wasn't covered in open wounds. He grimaced, paying attention to the small scar under Harry's left eye. Goa'uld technology had failed, friggen magic had failed, but Jack knew of another race that had their own brand of miracles.

!

"What do you mean you're just going to disappear?"

"I apologize Mr. Chairman, but we just don't have a choice. At the time, I thought that discovery of your Stargate program would be inevitable, with an alien invasion on our doorstep. However, not one country managed to notice what happened in the skies above. How am I supposed to explain such a serious breach of the International Statute of Secrecy, when I can't explain the Stargate?"

"So don't explain it," said General Carmichael. "The rest of the world doesn't need to know that you're working with us."

"Secrets don't last forever," said Stephen, "and I don't think you understand what the ramifications would be if the rest of the wizarding world were to find out that we were actively and openly working with the Air Force. The political ramifications would be horrendous."

"You're talking to me about politics? We're fighting a war here."

"A war is what I'm trying to prevent," said Stephen. He wondered when the President was going to get involved. "The first international wizarding war since the 1940's. The wizarding world has many reasons for staying away from your own, but chief among them is fear. The witch-hunts may be remembered as an odd bit of history for you, and well, you never actually killed any of us, but it has remained a lesson to many of us that wizards will be persecuted if we are not careful. The nuclear bomb is a constant reminder that the muggle world has grown into one that can actually be a threat to us. Hundreds of witches and wizards died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"If we were found out, the International Confederation of Wizards would likely announce that a police action was required here. Imagine foreign wizards on American soil taking over our government, and handing out Obliviations like candy. We may score some points for having Potter, and for trouncing the Brits in regards to Black, but we could never weather that storm. We're already rather looked down upon."

"Are you saying that they're a threat to us?" asked Chairman Carmichael.

"I'm saying they want our two societies to stay as far apart as possible. Unless we can show them a good enough reason to toss out the statute, we have to keep ourselves separate."

"How would we proceed?" asked President Treadmore.

Stephen took a deep breath. "All wizarding forces would be recalled from Stargate Command and the captured ship. They would of course take oaths of secrecy and, if you would prefer, sign non-disclosure agreements. Furthermore, there could be no mention of wizards or magic in any documents; official or otherwise."

"You can't be serious," said the General.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Chairman, but what happens if the Stargate program is ever disclosed, or falls under the Freedom of Information Act? I have to react with due diligence to this breach of the Statute."

"Is that all?" asked the President.

"Our existence would have to be kept from new initiates to the program," said Stephen.

The president sighed. "I suppose that's doable. What about Harry Potter?"

"I suppose that that's one bell that can't be unrung, even if I wanted to," said Stephen.

"So all the wizards except him have to leave," said the Chairman, "why?"

"As I understand it," said Stephen, "he's already drastically enhanced our ability to fight these aliens. How could I in good conscience stop him? Besides, as I understand it, speculation as to his origins has spread from aliens, to sudden genetic mutation. He's an anomaly. A single person doesn't point to a society, and we can always claim ignorance of his involvement."

"Very well," said the President, "which brings us to the matter of Black."

"He's been cleared of all charges in Britain," said Stephen.

"Yes," said President Treadmore, "but that doesn't address the matter of his actions here."

"You could officially pardon him," said Stephen.

"He pulled classified information out of the mind of a US soldier," said the Chairman in indignation.

"Yes, but we can't just imprison the man we just freed from wrongful persecution. He's going to be seen as a folk hero to the wizarding world; doing whatever it took to ensure his godson was safe. He'll be applauded."

"So let's take the middle road," said the President. "Parole him."

The General didn't look very happy about it, but he nodded. "I want a formal confession of everything he's done since he reached the US."

"I suppose you'll be wanting a non-disclosure agreement out of him as well?" said Stephen.

"That," said the General, "and I don't want him stepping foot onto military property, ever."

"Alright, gentlemen," said the President, "make it happen."

"Of course, sir," said Stephen, "now, you'll recall that our little coalition promised citizenship in whichever country he was found in, so long as he was found innocent of the crimes he was being pursued for."

"The man was found in outer space," said the Chairman, a little sourly.

!

Jack had been sitting with his sleeping son when the base alarms went off again, this time they signaled an off world activation. Jack heaved a sigh and got up, before speeding towards the control room. He arrived there to find the gate active, and the iris open.

"Who is it?" he asked Walter.

"SG-7's IDC, sir," Walter replied.

"Thank God," said one of the Gate technicians with a southern drawl.

Jack nodded and said, "Spread the good news to our guys on the mothership."

"Yes, sir," said Walter.

Jack turned and made his way to the steps that provided quick access to the gate room, just as Major Christensen came through the gate. He reached the room just as one of the wizards that had accompanied them, Miles or something, walked through. Captain Carthwhite had come through as well. Finally, an Asgard Jack didn't recognize stepped through.

"Major," said Jack, "the rest of your team? SG-5?"

The Major shook his head. "They didn't make it, sir."

"How'd you get off the ship?" Jack asked.

"It was Marcus here, sir," said the Major. "When the ship hit the atmosphere, he grabbed a hold of the two of us and popped us down to the surface."

"It was awful, sir," said Captain Carthwhite. "I lost a foot, and three fingers."

Jack gazed puzzledly at the intact captain.

"Hey, I put you back together again," said the surly wizard. "And you're not the one who was missing half a torso. No one there to put me back together; had to do it all on my own." He turned to Jack. "I saw Lake and Steward try to bring your other two officers, but they never made it; the perils of trying to dual-apparate whilst colliding with a planet's atmosphere."

"Alright," said Jack, "get to the infirmary, get cleaned up, someone will let you know when the debriefing is."

"Yes, sir," said the Major, walking out with his two companions. Finally, Jack turned to the Asgard.

"Sorry for ignoring you there," said Jack.

"No apologies are necessary, Colonel O'Neill. I am Commander Balder. I wished to report in person to Supreme Commander Thor, so I have come in advance of my ship."

"Alright," said Jack.

"Indeed," said Balder, "with the neutralization of one of Anubis's base worlds, I thought it to be for the best."

"Neutralization?" asked Jack.

"Indeed," said Balder, "after locating your missing men, several hundred kilometers from the Stargate, we were able to ascertain that the world was the source of the attack on your own. Thus, under the Protected Planets Treaty, we were within our rights to remove all Jaffa forces, goa'uld, and goa'uld technology from the planet."

"Cool," said Jack.

"Furthermore," said the chatty Asgard in a very self-satisfied manner, "I wished to inform you that we believe a solution can be found for Harry Potter's predicament."

"You know about that?" asked Jack, who had been planning to ask the Asgard about just that 'predicament'.

"Indeed," said Balder, "Supreme Commander Thor alerted us to it, and the blade in question was sent to my ship. We will send word when we have found a way to reverse the damage. We are assuming that you do not wish us to simply clone him."

A tension that Jack had put out of his mind released and Jack smiled again. "No," he said, "I think we should take cloning off the table." As long as the Asgard were confident that they could fix Harry, he was happy. "I'll let you get to Thor, and I'll tell Harry the good news."

Balder nodded and disappeared in a flash of bright white.

After a quick discussion with the General, Jack walked back down to the infirmary with a lightness to his step. The loss of the various SG team members temporarily put aside.

Jack's good mood evaporated as he neared the infirmary

"Get off me! Don't touch me!" Harry's voice yelled out. Jack hadn't heard him talk like that before, and he rushed forward.

"Back up, people," he heard Janet say as he rounded the entryway to the infirmary, "he doesn't need you crowding him."

Harry was backed up in a corner with a frantic look on his face, surrounded by nurses and orderlies with their hands up in placating gestures.

"Get back to your duties and use your heads next time," said Janet. "You wouldn't do that to a soldier in here."

"The small crowd dispersed shame-facedly and Harry slumped down in his corner, letting his face burry it in his knees.

"I got it," Jack said to Janet. She nodded back to him with a compassionate look on her face. Jack walked down the line of beds to Harry and sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry," said Harry, who was trying, not very successfully, to take deep, calming breaths.

"What, do you think you're the only guy to lose it in here?" Harry nodded next to him. "Really?" asked Jack. "That was a rhetorical question, anyway. And you're not the only one. It's one of the occupational hazards."

"You ever?" asked Harry.

"Nah," said Jack, "I'm more of the quiet stewing type." Harry nodded next to him. "Not very healthy, really. I've got to say though, I'm glad you were able to keep from lashing out with your abilities just then."

"I think that I forgot that I could," said Harry.

"Ah," said Jack.

"There were hands, holding me down, and I couldn't do anything. And then someone woke me up and, there were more hands, and they didn't want to leave me alone."

"Yeah," said Jack, "I'm sure Janet will yell at them later for that."

"I don't want her to," said Harry, shaking his head.

Jack grimaced. "So I've got some good news," said Jack. Harry looked up at him. "The Asgard have been studying the um, the toxin that Anubis used. They think they can figure a way to undo it." He'd almost said 'blade' there, but had thought better of it.

"What?" asked Harry.

"The Asgard," said Jack, "they figure that they owe you one, so they'll work out a way to fix you up."

"But they can't," said Harry urgently.

"Sure they can," said Jack, "they're the Asgard. They're pretty good at the whole science thing."

"But I won't let them," said Harry.

"What?" asked Jack, now confused.

"You can't just pretend that it never happened, because it did. You can't just erase it."

"Yes," said Jack, at a complete loss, "you can."

"No," said Harry.

"Do you want to live the rest of your life with those scars?" asked Jack, incredulous.

"No," said Harry, pushing himself up from the corner and moving away from Jack. "Look, can we just drop it?"

"Harry-" Jack started, standing up.

"I can fix it myself, if I want," said Harry, "grow a graft of my own skin and transplant it."

"You want surgery now?"

"No, I don't. But it's easy as pie, anyway."

"Easy," said Jack dubiously.

"Yeah," said Harry. "It would just take a few months to work out."

"The Asgard could get this done in a few days, at most."

"Well tell them not to bother," said Harry. "If anyone does it, it's going to be me."

Jack realized that he had no idea what they were arguing about. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Alright," he said, "we don't have to talk about this now."

"Good," said Harry, turning around.

"Let's get you back to bed," said Jack.

"I don't need to sleep," said Harry, even as he let Jack guide him to his bed.

"Yeah," said Jack, "but you do need some rest, so humor me." Harry acquiesced. "We'll probably get you back to your own bed soon, but not until Janet clears you."

"The one here, or the one at home?"

"Probably here for a while," said Jack. "There's always lots of paper work after an alien invasion." He finished pulling Harry's sheets up.

"We should go to Hawaii," said Harry drowsily.

"Say what?" asked Jack, but Harry was already lost to the world.

"You have no idea about the paper work," said a soft voice from behind him. Jack turned around to see the General behind him. He walked over to him.

"What do you mean, sir?" he asked.

"The witches and wizards have all pulled out," said the General, "and we have orders to forget we ever saw them."

"That might make things hard," Jack deadpanned.

"You're telling me," said George. "I don't like it one bit."

"Wait," said Jack, "what about Black?"

"We've had no word about him."

Just when he had thought that they were going to get some answers from the man, or any of them, they up and left. Typical, and now he had Harry's perplexing behavior to add onto it.

!

**Sirius Black Found!**

Yesterday evening, mere hours after

his name was cleared, Sirius Black

was found in America by American

aurors and taken into custody. In a

statement released by the press

liaison of the American auror

department, it was revealed that

Black was in America searching for

leads into the disappearance of Harry

Potter, who most of our readers will

recall is his godson.

In a surprising twist, the American

government proceeded to promptly

charge the man with a number of

crimes, committed by Black in the

course of his search. However, in

deference to his inability to move

about freely, as well as his nine

year long wrongful stay in

Azkaban, he has been sentenced

to a single year of probation.

Many would expect Black to simply

be deported, however the United

States Government has offered

him citizenship, as originally

promised. There has been much

speculation that his being found,

so soon after the proof of his

innocence being found, is not

above suspicion. Some wizards

believe that the Americans have

had custody of Black for months

now, and have only revealed him

now when it is politically

advantageous. Either way, everyone

must now be wondering, what will

Sirius Black do now that he is a

free man?

!

Michael Carver had been to many meetings in his capacity as a parent; there had been a fair number of parent teacher conferences, PTA meetings, and general meetings of parents, mostly when his son had gotten theirs in some spot of mischief or another. This one felt different though. Mrs. Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Trawler, Mrs. Young, Mrs. Langdon and himself were all in attendance at Jack O'Neill's middle-of-nowhere home, sitting around the coffee table in the living room.

"What's this about, Jack?" asked Mrs. Trawler. "This all feels very cloak and dagger, meeting together without letting the boys know." She said it with an air of conspiratorial frivolity, but Michael wondered if there might be more truth to her words than she knew.

"I'm curious myself," said Mrs. Young.

"Something happened recently," said Jack, "that you all need to know about, because of your son's connection to Harry."

"This sounds serious," said Mrs. Little.

"It is," said Jack, "but first, you need to know some background." He pulled out four identical files marked 'Subject: Harry Potter,' and in big bold letters, 'TOP SECRET.' He passed them across the coffee table.

"These look official," said Michael seriously, with a hint of suspicion. "Do you have clearance show us this?" His curiosity was ready to kill him for saying it, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Jack passed him the signed and sealed order of clearance and said, "All sensitive information has been redacted. The only information in there for you are secrets that were kept merely to protect Harry's privacy."

A puzzled Mrs. Langdon opened one of the files and exclaimed, "It's almost all blacked out!" as Michael noticed the same.

"Like I said," said Jack. He cleared his throat and started a clinical summary of the file's contents.

"Age one and a half, Harry's parents were murdered under unknown circumstances, so he was sent to the inadequate care of his aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley. At age nine, Harry was at an airport when two fugitives, part of a larger, violent criminal organization, fleeing Air Force agents, took him hostage. They fled with him to Egypt, which is where he contracted his skin-condition. After five and a half months, Harry managed to escape. The two fugitives are now dead."

Well Hell, the boy wins the Most Depressing Orphan award. It almost sounded like the plot to a Dickens novel. Michael peered intently at the redacted file in front of him while keeping an ear on Jack. There was no mention of the skin disorder at all, which meant that it had all been redacted. But what could be secret about that? Then something else struck him about Jack's wordings; he peered closely at the file.

"Harry, not wanting to return to his relatives care never contacted the authorities and managed to live on his own for another week until we managed to stumble across him," Jack continued. "As you know, he and I bonded and, as our investigation had revealed certain aspects of his home life, I eventually was able to adopt him."

Jack cleared his throat. "Any questions before I continue?"

The other parents had remained silent throughout the story. Some had tried to follow along on the files provided, while most had stared intently at him. Mrs. Little spoke up first.

"Poor Harry," she said, "I think Tommy must have known something about this, he's given hints of knowing more than most about Harry."

Jack nodded. "Harry mentioned that he had confided in Tommy, though he only specified that he hadn't revealed anything classified."

Throughout all of this, Mr. Carver kept poring over the file, and though he felt a tad uncomfortable, he spoke up. Perhaps he was wrong, anyway.

"I've been reading between the lines here, or rather, between the redacted and non-redacted sections, and comparing it to what you've actually said, the words you used. Clearly, this is a somewhat official matter, and you've done your best not to lie directly, but you've clearly tried to mislead us on a few points. One, I'm certain, relates to Top Secret matters, though I'm not sure how, so I will leave it alone. However, I do think we need to know if Harry killed these people himself."

His statement was met with silence for a moment, and Jack found himself cursing all lawyers in general. The other parents in the room recovered though, and there were exclamations of "surely not," and "how ridiculous."

Jack stared at him. "I've always had trouble with lawyers," he said.

"I get that a lot," said Michael.

Jack cleared his throat. "He did," he said, and for a few moments there was silence.

"But," Mrs. Young said, "he's so tiny, and nice."

"As to the first," Jack growled, "a keen mind can usually make up for a small body. As you all know, Harry's a prodigy. As to the second," he said…

"Nice people kill all the time," Michael finished for him, speaking from experience. "It's simply a mater of finding the proper motivation."

"As I was saying," said Jack, "Harry _is_ nice. He's the most selfless ten year old I've ever met. In fact, I've never known him to harm anyone when his own skin was the only one on the line. When Harry was forced to put his keen intellect to use, he had just seen them kill a boy not much older than himself and he knew that the boy wouldn't be the last. You see Harry has a rather large…" the man searched for the right words, "net gain, when it comes to people's lives. And if you need an example a little closer to home of how evil and twisted these people are, let's fast forward to two weeks ago. The leader of this organization, correctly believing Harry to have acquired certain information that couldn't be gathered from his two dead captors, had Harry abducted, having somehow learned his location. Harry, correctly believing that revealing this information would lead to a lot of people being killed, refused to divulge it, even when threatened, and even when they roughed him up. So their leader, being an evil sadist, had one of his minions carve these symbols into Harry's back with a knife." Jack tossed a rough sketch of a boy's back onto the table, Harry's obviously, leading to another collective gasp, though Mrs. Langdon managed to sound more like a strangled cat. Michael felt his stomach twist in knots; he had defended some real pieces of work before, but this took sociopathy to a whole new level.

"This is actually why I called us all here; Harry's got a good head on his shoulders, and he seems to be rejecting any sense that he should feel ashamed of these marks, and I don't know if he'll do anything to hide them. So I thought you'd all like to know about it before your own boys come home with awkward questions. This is your heads-up."

Mr. Carver was the only one to speak up this time. "You did it again, of course. But um, that's hardly pertinent." He cleared his throat. "How many?"

"Two," said Jack, "we think. Even Harry's sketchy on the details. What we do know is that when Harry realized that he couldn't withstand this form of torture indefinitely, he acted, just as they had decided to move on to his face. Now, after the initial blood shed, Harry was in a position to escape, and save his own life. But then he nearly gave his own life trying to save more lives."

"How-?" started Mr. Trawler, "Classified," Jack interrupted.

"Harry did save a lot of lives that day," said Jack, "and he would have died if not for a Hail Mary pass made by one of my teammates. Now if you don't think that that's a bitter pill to swallow, imagine if tomorrow one of your boys decided to sacrifice his life for what boils down to a lot of hypothetical lives. Granted I don't know if he was in a right state of mind at the time, what with all the torture."

Such an ugly word, 'torture'. There was more silence this time, though Mrs. Trawler was quietly weeping.

"Is this organization still a danger?" asked Mrs. Young, beating Michael to the punch.

"No," said Jack. "And this is something I did mean to address here. Taking Harry was the last mistake they made. We've taken out all of their leadership, and a lot of their flunkies. Harry no longer has a target on his back, so your boys can't be caught in any crossfire."

"Did you know when you adopted him that he would be a target?" asked Michael.

"No," said Jack. "We didn't know Harry was even on their radar until they took him."

"But you knew that he could kill," said Mr. Carver, not really wanting to say it.

"I don't think he's a bad boy, Jack," Mrs. Langdon rushed to say, "none of us do. But what if he gets into a fight with another boy? Boys are always getting into fights."

"Alice," said Jack, "I wouldn't be a good father to Harry if I hadn't made sure a long time ago that he knows how to defend himself without harming his attacker. And let's face it, Harry's not aggressive enough to start a fight on his own."

"If he can defend himself like that," said Mrs. Young, "then why did he kill those men?"

Michael knew the answer to that one, but he let Jack answer. "Because," said Jack, "there's a big difference between keeping your nose from being bloodied by the neighborhood bully, and fighting for your life in a room full of people who want to torture and kill you. Harry never had the luxury of taking the time and effort to not hurt those so-called men. I can assure you, he doesn't enjoy violence."

"That's as may be," started Mrs. Young, but Mrs. Little interrupted.

"Harry supported Tommy," she interjected. "Tommy was very sick, and we decided to keep it quiet," she began. "But Harry figured out that something was wrong, and he confronted Tommy. And Tommy told him that he was dying."

"Oh my God!" said Michael. Matt had been friends with Tommy since the boys were five.

"No," said Mrs. Little. "He's alright now. Really, they say it's a medical miracle, and he's going to be fine. But that's not the point. The point is that Harry stood by Tommy, and supported him. So now, I'm going to support Harry, and I know that Tommy will too."

"It seems that tonight is the night for revelations," said Mr. Carver, trying to keep a calm outward appearance.

"Why?" asked Jack. "Do you have one for us?"

Michael gave him an exasperated look and shook his head. "I don't like this. I don't like any of this." He really wasn't used to arguing such personal matters.

"No one likes this, Michael," said Mrs. Langdon.

"Hey," said Jack, "I didn't bring you here to talk about feelings. This is about action. You want to know about your son's safety? I'm more paranoid than the rest of you put together, and I think Harry's safe. The real question is, what's everyone aside from Linda here going to do?" He gave Mrs. Little a polite nod.

"Well," said Mrs. Langdon, "as I said, I don't like any of this. But I can't turn my back on a child for events that have simply been out of his control."

"Thank you, Karen," said Jack.

"But what do I tell Philip?" she asked, "how's he supposed to understand all of this."

Jack shrugged. "Keep things simple; simpler than I put it. Harry, through no fault of his own, learned sensitive and dangerous information. Bad people wanted him to give it to them and he refused, so they hurt him. Harry escaped. The bad people were captured. And this isn't something they need to worry about, because it's all just something that doesn't usually happen."

"They'll have questions," said Mrs. Little.

"That's the beauty of Top Secret," said Jack, "you don't have the answers anyway. All you have to do is assure them that they're safe."

"But what if that doesn't cut it?" asked Michael. "Matthew shouldn't have to deal with any of this. None of our boys should."

"None of your boys should know about what happened _to_ Harry?" Now seeming to really get annoyed. "A boy two years their junior? It shouldn't have happened to anyone. No one should have to deal with it. But life doesn't care about who you are, or how old you are; it'll still throw crap at you. The only say you get in the mater is how you handle it. So will you face it like a man, and teach your son to do so as well, or will you just look the other way?"

The man had an unsophisticated way with words, but they were well said.

"I'm with you, Jack," said a miserable looking Mrs. Young.

"So are we," said Mr. Trawler.

And that just left Michael, who huffed exasperatedly, fiddling with a pen he had pulled from his breast pocket.

"Wonderful," he commented. "So I'm the naysayer. You know, Jack, you would have been a hit with the Harvard debate team. They always liked someone who could keep things interesting."

"And…" said Jack, who looked about ready to hit him with a stick until he gave an answer."

"Let it never be said, that a Carver didn't stand and face the world like a man," Michael paraphrased the man's words back to him. "Very well, my wife and I will explain the situation to Matthew. So long as Harry never gives us reason to reconsider our position, he is welcome in our home. You, on the other hand," he said to Jack, "can go suck-it."

"Michael!" Mrs. Langdon admonished.

"I'm kidding!" Mr. Carver exclaimed. "Seriously, you're all so tense. Why aren't we drinking beer?"

!

Remus didn't know of any small holes near him. Remus needed a small hole to crawl into, so he could curl up into a little ball and disappear. Wait, Egypt propably had plenty of holes. Crap. Crap, crap, CRAP! Sirius was innocent. Sirius was innocent, Harry was abused and now missing, and Remus had indulged in an eight year long pity party for himself when he could have been doing something about either one. Crap.

There was no time to hide in a hole though, he needed to get to Sirius, and apologize. He had to show his once best friend how sorry he was. Perhaps equally important, maybe Sirius had a lead that they could follow to Harry. Two of the Marauders together again in search of their friend's son. Egypt's mysteries could wait another day, Remus had to get to America.

A/N: Well, I had originally planned for this to be an epilogue, but somehow it turned into another chapter. So, I thought that perhaps my loyal readers could suggest any unresolved issues that they wanted addressed in the next chapter, the real epilogue. I can't promise to include everything of course, but I hope I'll get to all the important stuff.


	18. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Seeing as this fic is now complete, you'd be reading this on a hard copy from the book store if I owned it, instead of on a website called .

Epilogue

Jack had never seen himself as the vacationing sort. Oh, he'd take time off when he needed to relax and fish at his cabin, but Hawaii had never been on his radar.

When all had been over and done with, Jack had wanted Harry and himself to get away for a while. He didn't want them to have anything to do with Stargates, aliens, or anything more life threatening than a sunburn. Not that Harry got sunburns.

A mere eight hours after the General had overheard Harry's interest in Hawaii, an Airman had handed Jack plane tickets and the name of a hotel where reservations had been made. Jack had had a lot to do before they left; preliminary paperwork had taken a full day, and then Jack had had an evening to pack, and a morning to talk to the other Parents before he was rushing through an air port. They arrived at their hotel on Christmas day, and it was a first for Harry and Jack together. Room service had already had an order made for a Christmas dinner for the two of them that night. He still didn't know who had arranged everything, but Jack wasn't complaining about the first class accommodations.

No, Jack wasn't exactly the vacationing sort, but it was relaxing to look out at the beach from their suite's patio. He was pulled from his reverie as Harry ran up to said patio and climbed over the divide.

"Hi, Jack," he said with a small smile, which had been the most emotion that Harry had shown since he had left the infirmary; outside of his nightmares, of course.

"Hey, Harry," Jack replied as Harry started to dry his hair with one of the fluffy towels that had come with the suite. "You having fun?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," said Harry, who had taken to the water like a fish since he had learned to swim last summer. "We played Frisbee in the surf, after we played in the sand."

"Sounds good," said Jack, "you making any friends?"

Harry shrugged and said, "Simona wants to go to see a movie later, maybe."

Having seen the way the girl had been looking at Harry, Jack thought she was more interested in sitting next to him than watching a movie, but he wasn't going to let Harry in on that just yet.

"It'll have to be an early movie," said Jack, "our plane leaves at six tomorrow morning, and I for one want some sleep."

"Okay Jack," said Harry, "I'll tell her."

Harry hopped the low wall again and ran off to where he had left his friends.

Jack didn't know what surprised him more, that Harry was running around shirtless, or that the other kids didn't seem to be making him feel awkward about it. Jack on the other hand had been questioned by just about every adult who thought it was their business. Jack usually answered with, "He was attacked; that's all you need to know."

Harry had declared that he wasn't going to hide this time. He still wore a glove over his hand device, but whenever the situation called for it, he went topless, regardless of who stared. Jack smiled. Hawaii had been good for his son.

!

Harry's feet swung back and forth through the air as he peered over his shoulder into the bathroom mirror. He was seated on the counter, his hair still dripping from a shower, as he passed a couple fingers over some of the scars on the back of his shoulder. They didn't hurt, but he winced as his fingers met raised scar tissue.

He had half an hour until he had to be ready to leave for the airport. Harry still thought that it was silly to take a plane when they clearly had other options, but the Air Force didn't want them to do anything to bring notice on them; like move from Colorado to Hawaii and back without any documented plane trips.

Harry had packed his things the night before, and then gone to bed early, in order to accommodate their early flight. The early bed time hadn't done him any good though. Things had been harder since Harry's capture, and nights were the hardest. But still, things were also getting better. He kept reminding himself of that.

Harry didn't regret anything that had happened, though the events haunted him. He had helped save the world, the whole galaxy even, and he was proud of himself. He just wished he could spend one whole night asleep. He wished Anubis had never found Ba'al's stash of torture devices.

Jack had been good about not pushing Harry on the subject of his scars, and Harry was glad, since he hadn't been able to make sense of his own thoughts. He knew that it wasn't normal to hold onto scars like he was though.

"Breakfast! " Jack called from the living room.

Harry slipped down from the counter and quickly pulled on clean clothes before rushing out of the bathroom, his hands still working a towel through his hair as his stomach rumbled.

"What did you order?" he asked Jack as he walked into the living room.

"You wanted it to be a surprise," said Jack as he gestured towards the table, where their breakfast waited with the stereotypical silver domed lids of room service.

Harry went and removed one of the lids. He looked at Jack. "When I said surprise me, I still thought you'd keep it in the realm of breakfast."

"It is breakfast," said Jack. "You've never had pizza for breakfast?"

"You always make sure there's no leftovers," Harry pointed out.

"True," said Jack. "In this case however, it's breakfast pizza. See, there's bits of egg and sausage."

Harry examined the small personal pizza carefully. "Huh," he said, and they sat down to eat.

"See," said Jack, after they had started in on their pizzas. "They mixed the perfection of a traditional sausage and eggs breakfast, with the goodness of pizza. Culinary art at its finest."

Harry thought that they had just had some pizza dough left over from the night before, but he gave a small smile and let Jack talk. He knew that Jack was worried about him, so Harry did his best to put on a happy façade; not that it was always a façade. Sometimes, pretending to be happy was just as good as the real thing, but sometimes it was just tiring. Harry went on eating, and he went on smiling. Breakfast pizza was actually pretty good.

!

Sirius was tired of waiting, but he had agreed to it. One of the conditions of his parole was that he let the Yanks decide when to introduce Harry to the wizarding world. 'We don't want to wait till his eleventh, but let's not rush things.' Sirius didn't like it, but he was free, and Harry was safe.

It was so strange to think of the word. Free. He wasn't loose, on the run, or escaped, he was free, and the world knew about it. Publications around the world had shouted out that Sirius Black had never sold out his best friends, had never killed those muggles. More importantly, Peter was locked up. Now the rat knew what it was like to be shut in with Dementors day in and day out. Sirius was at his liberty to openly walk down a street, and all he had to do was stay away from military bases and apothecaries (a condition of his parole due to his liberal use of Veritaserum). And stay away from his godson for the moment.

He almost missed his time living as Jet.

He was roused from his late breakfast, cold Chinese leftovers, with a nock at the door. Thinking of the cute rookie Auror who had been helping him settle into life on parole, he checked to make sure he was presentable. Casting a quick charm to freshen his breath, Sirius moved to the door of his new home in Colorado Springs. It wasn't the cute rookie.

Sirius's foot lashed out to kick Remus in the shin.

"Ow!" Remus cried, hopping about a bit. Sirius took a step forward and Remus held up a hand and said. "You can beat me up all you want, but first-" Sirius hugged him, unable to put his feelings at having his only remaining friend appear at his front door into words.

"That was for not kidnapping Harry from the Dursleys years ago."

Remus pushed back a bit to look properly at Sirius. "I regret that too," he said, "but I can't begin to-"

"I suspected you first," Sirius interrupted him again.

"What?"

"I thought you were the spy back then, that's why I picked Peter as the secret keeper. I arranged for the traitor to have the secret. I have just as much regret as you do. And well Remus, I was kind of hoping that you could forgive me?"

"Only if you can forgive me," said Remus, looking close to breaking down.

"Done," said Sirius, who slugged Remus in the arm.

"What was that for?" asked Remus.

"One of the Aurors told me you were wasting your time in Egypt," said Sirius. "Harry got into a spot of trouble a couple weeks ago, and I could have used some backup."

"Harry's here?" asked Remus, flabbergasted. "Then you did have him taken from the Dursleys?"

Sirius gave him an odd look as he ushered him into the house. "I wouldn't even know how to do that from Azkaban, let alone be able to pull it off."

"Well how'd you find him here?"

"Wasn't that hard actually. You'd have been able to do it too, if you'd done the sensible thing and put some lumps into Dursley. Well, that and break a few dozen laws."

"He's safe?"

"Yeah," said Sirius. "He is now, anyway. He's been adopted actually, by the Air Force Colonel that was looking for him."

"What happened?" asked a flabbergasted Remus.

"Now that's classified."

"You can't be serious," said Remus, and before Sirius could say anything said, "and no serious Sirius jokes."

"Noted," said Sirius.

"But really though," said Remus.

"Like I said," said Sirius. "It is classified. I signed a number of documents to that effect and swore an oath. Also, I'm going to be meeting my godson soon, and I don't want to start things off by giving off all of his secrets."

"Look, Professor Dumbledore thinks that Harry was possessed by some kind of magical creature. He doesn't think that that's the case anymore, but we found something interesting in Egypt, about a creature that may have passed itself off as the sun god, so it's really important that we make sure he's alright."

"Wow," said Sirius. "It's weird how you can be so close while being so ridiculously far away."

"Well was he possessed?"

"He's safe now," said Sirius as way of answer, and Remus sighed. "It's just, it's so weird. I think it must be like what a muggleborn feels when they first enter the wizarding world. Only I think it's the same for the muggles that get exposed to it. The thing that took Harry got him sucked into all of it."

"And this man that's adopted him?"

"Oh, he's been doing his best to keep Harry out of trouble. The kid doesn't always make it easy though, but it's not always his fault."

"Let me guess," said Remus, "you've been keeping tabs as a lovable old stray."

"Family pet, actually," said Sirius.

"Gutsy," Remus commented.

"Oh, you don't want to know half the crap I've pulled."

"Hence your being out on probation," said Remus.

"Oh yes," said Sirius, "I think there were those who wanted to throw me in a hole somewhere and forget I existed."

"You'd have come back," said Remus.

"Oh yeah," said Sirius, "so, you want to hear how I did it?"

!

Harry was used to traveling by ship, with naught but the monotony of hyperspace to look out at. Yet still, a ten-hour flight from Hawaii to Colorado was so incredibly dull. Perhaps it was because Harry could have made the trip in a fraction of a second were he so inclined. Granted, he had to admit that first class was a decent way to travel, if you really had to. Which he didn't.

Harry spent his time on his laptop. He read cheery emails from his friends, watched some videos, and tried to get a little work done. Beside him, Jack slept in his spacious first-class seat, but he was woken up when the plane hit some turbulence.

Jack stretched in his seat and got his bearings before turning to Harry. "Hey Harry," he said. "What did I miss?"

"The flight attendant came by to get lunch orders."

"And you said...?"

"I figured you wanted the chicken salad."

"Impressive," said Jack, "you said that with a straight face. What did you really get me?"

"You didn't want a...?" Harry started, but gave up when he saw he wasn't going to fool Jack. "Steak sandwich with chips."

"Now that sounds more like it," said Jack. "So what are you up to? Have you been working on the graft?" They were far enough from other passengers that they could talk with relative privacy.

"I finished already," said Harry, quietly.

"And?"

"I forwarded it to Sam and Janet, like you said."

"They had agreed that as long as Harry worked towards developing the technology, Jack wouldn't push him to accept the Asgard's help. They had both held to their sides of the bargain.

"You never said anything about it," said Jack.

"Well I've been working on something else," said Harry.

"What's that?" asked Jack.

"Well here," said Harry, turning his laptop to face Jack. His Dad stared blankly at the screen, which showed a series of complex chemical formulas.

"Nice," said Jack, nodding his head.

"It's for a topical solution," said Harry. "Hypothetically, it should smooth out the skin on my back so the scars aren't raised up like they are."

"Good," said Jack nodding, "sounds like a good first step."

"It is," said Harry.

"This is basically an alternative to surgery."

"Yeah," said Harry. "And this is the second step." He called up another window, which held another series of chemical formulas.

"And what does this do?" asked Jack.

"Well," said Harry, "this would seek out the skin cells affected by the toxin, and turn them a darker color."

"What color?" asked Jack slowly.

"Basically a light brown," said Harry.

"You don't have light brown skin," said Jack.

"No I don't," said Harry.

"You want to turn your scars into tattoos."

"Essentially," said Harry, a little nervous as to what Jack's reaction would be.

"Tattoos being permanent?" asked Jack.

"This being a little more so," said Harry with a nod.

"Why?" asked Jack.

Having known that he would be having this conversation, Harry had already tried to put his thoughts into some coherent order. He wasn't sure yet if he had been successful. "Well," he said, "I talked to Teal'c before we left, and I asked him about his symbol." He referred to the golden symbol of Apophis affixed to Teal'c's forehead. "I asked him what he thought about it, when he saw it in the mirror."

"What did he say?" asked Jack.

"He said that it used to be a mark of shame. It was a mark of slavery and a reminder of the things that he had done for Apophis. But now, he says it's a symbol of honor, and triumph over the false gods, because, you know, his is dead, just like all the others.

"Anubis tried to take over and find people like me to study and use, but we stopped him. I stopped him. He put these marks in my back to make me less. He wanted to subjugate me, but I won, and Anubis is either dead or trapped forever." Harry stumbled a little over his words, making sure that he didn't say anything sensitive. "The symbols on my back are a mark of victory over Anubis, no matter what they actually say. And I want to feel that. I want to be proud of them, but first I have to..." Harry didn't know how to finish.

"You have to make them your own," Jack offered.

"Yeah," said Harry, feeling relieved that Jack understood, at least in part, a knot in his stomach he hadn't noticed unwound.

"Have you thought about having tattoos on your back for the rest of your life?"

"Better than scars," said Harry. Jack nodded to show he conceded the point. "Besides, they could still be hidden by just about any shirt."

"True," said Jack. "But your friends at least will notice eventually that your scars have turned into tattoos. Unless you plan to always wear a shirt around them from this point on."

"Yeah," said Harry, "I was wondering about that." They could think of some kind of explanation.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Jack.

"Pretty sure," said Harry. "Plus, I'll always have the skin graft to fall back on. And the cool thing about that, is that most of it relies on non-classified technology. It could be passed off as just another medical advancement made by the Air Force, so it could actually be introduced into mainstream medicine."

"Most of it?"

"The actual transplant would be much easier and faster with... alternative... technology," said Harry. "But it's still doable without it."

"That's good, Harry; something else to be proud of."

"Yeah," said Harry, a little uncomfortable with the praise.

"So," said Jack, "you have both the skin graft and the tattoos to develop and test safely. That gives you plenty of time to think about what you want."

He looked like he wanted to say something else, and Harry wondered if it was about the Asgard, but Jack stayed silent.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Harry.

"I want you to do whatever's best for you."

"Well, yeah," said Harry. "But what would you do?"

"If it were me," said Jack, "I'd let my friends take care of it."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Because," said Jack, "I would already know that I didn't have anything else to prove, to myself or anyone else."

"Hm," said Harry.

"You're still leaning towards the tattoos, aren't you?" asked Jack.

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Okay," said Jack.

!

Colorado was even colder than they had left it, and something of a shock after the pleasant Hawaiian climate.

"You sure you have to go in to work so late?" asked Harry as he hopped out of the truck in front of Matt's house.

"Yeah," said Jack, "they were fine with me doing my paperwork in Hawaii, but they want me to do a more in depth in person debriefing as soon as possible. Besides, I'm still on Hawaii time. I'll see you later in the evening."

"Alright," said Harry.

"Have fun with your friends," said Jack.

"See you," said Harry, closing the truck door before running up the walkway to the Carvers' home.

Harry was ushered into the home by Mrs. Carver, and to his surprise he was soon surrounded by all of his friends.

"What are you guys all doing here?" he asked them.

"Sleep over," said Tommy, "Mrs. Carver said you could stay if you wanted."

"Um," said Harry, "thanks, but I've been looking forward to my own bed tonight."

"Mom said you'd probably say something like that," said Matt, "thought we'd check anyway. Come on, I'll show you the new games I told you about."

"Cool," said Harry, letting himself be led upstairs to Matt's room, which now had a number of sleeping bags and pillows piled in one corner.

"So what do we want to play?" asked Matt, "I'm taking votes for Ratchet and Clank, and Mortal Combat."

"Weren't you trying for Grand Theft?" asked Harry.

"Yeah," said Philip, "but his dad said he was raising a lawyer, not a defendant."

That sounded like something Matt's dad would say.

"I tried to tell him I wanted insight into the criminal mind," said Matt, "but he didn't buy it."

"That's because it's a BS argument," said Tommy.

"Pretty full of it," said Andy.

"That's it," said Matt, "you're all against me. Harry, my only true friend, what do you want to play?"

"Ratchet and Clank," he said, not really knowing what the game was about, and trying to keep from grinning over being back amongst the easy bantering of his friends.

"Alright," said Matt grandly, "let's save the galaxy."

They had no idea.

If anyone had asked Harry ahead of time if he would have fun pretending to save the galaxy from ridiculous alien threats, he would have given them a dubious stare. But it was actually… relaxing. It also wasn't a game he was automatically good at, ironically enough.

It was a while before anyone asked him a serious question.

"So how've you been, anyway?" asked Tommy.

"Okay," said Harry after a moment's thought. "I mean, you all know sort of what happened."

"Sort of," Andy agreed.

"It's not something you just… walk away from. But I'm doing okay."

"Yeah?" asked Simon.

"Hawaii was nice," said Harry.

"Don't pull any punches, Harry," said Matt, "Tell us exactly how awesome it was."

"It was really awesome," said Harry. "The weather was great, and so was our hotel. I don't know how to describe it."

"See, I told my parents we need to take a vacation in Hawaii," said Matt.

"What did they say?" asked Tommy.

"They said that we already did. When I was four."

"That doesn't count," said Philip.

"It really doesn't," agreed Andy.

"That's it," said Matt, "I'm starting a list of places I need to go to before I'm six feet under."

"That's a nice way of putting it," said Tommy with a role of his eyes.

"Don't forget things you need to do," said Andy.

"Sky diving," suggested Simon.

"Oh my God, you're insane," said Philip, who did not like heights.

Harry smiled as he listened to his friends talk. It was good to be home.

!

Jack picked Harry up around ten o'clock, as Harry's friends were getting ready for bed. As they had been warned by Lou, a friend of Jack's who had agreed to look after the place while they were away, Jet was nowhere to be found when they got home; Harry was confident though that the massive dog would return. Jack clearly wasn't, but he had put up a hopeful front for Harry. They were still unpacking the next morning when the doorbell rang.

"I got it," called Harry, whose room was closer to the door. He walked to the entryway, supposing that one of his friends may have dropped by on their way home. It was not one of his friends though, but rather four adults, one of whom he recognized instantly as his godfather. A woman near the back, it took him a moment to recognize, was one of the witches that had accompanied his father to take Anubis's mothership. He had seen her when Jack had tried to talk him out of his suicidal plan. The group was headed by an Asian man in a business suit, and completed by a mustachioed man standing close to his godfather.

"Mr. Potter," greeted the Asian man. "My name is Stephen Lee, I'm the Secretary of Magic and I am here on behalf of both the President of the United States and Wizarding America. I have a lot to tell you."

Jack came up from behind Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, this should be interesting."

FIN

A/N: Well that's it. Thank you everyone who's read and reviewed this story, I've loved the support. For all of you that have asked for a sequel, the fact is that I don't know if I will make one for this one. I will be making one for Tar'Chell's Wrath though, so keep an eye out for that one.

I have one final request: for all of you that have read this without reviewing before, would you please consider leaving just one for the end of the fic?


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